The Pagan

Supervising a year 9 Jewish Studies class, I happened upon a copy of the Jewish calendar. I cast an eye over the months: Nisan, Tammuz, Tishri. Intrigued, I asked one of the girls: "Where do the names of the Jewish months come from?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, for instance, what's the origin of the name 'Nisan'?"

"It's just a name. It doesn't have an origin."

"Everything has an origin."

"The normal month names don't have origins."

"Yes they do."

"Like what?"

"Like March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war ... and January, I think, is named after some Greek or Roman god."

"Oh," she said, and a smile of understanding crept over her face. "See, we only have one God, so I guess that's the difference."

Ouch.

And I didn't even know I was a pagan.