The Surprising History of November

The penultimate month of the year boasts fascinating traditions like anvil firing, candle leaping and sending one’s regrets down the river.

By Lesley Kennedy

November brings to mind Thanksgiving feasts, Election Day, Veterans Day—and the shift to colder, darker nights with the end of daylight saving time. But the penultimate month of the year also boasts fascinating traditions like anvil firing, candle leaping and one of the year’s most impressive meteor showers. Whether or not you agree with Louisa May Alcott that “November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year,” there’s no denying the 11th month has a rich history.   

Origins of November

The name November comes from novem, the Latin word for nine, as it initially was the Roman calendar’s ninth month. After the Gregorian calendar added January and February, November became the 11th month, but its ancient name stuck. 

Seasonal Oddities and Astronomical Facts

November’s full moon, known as the Beaver Moon, was named for the time beavers take shelter for winter and fur trappers used to set their traps for the highly prized animal pelts during early American history. Indigenous names for the full moon reflect seasonal behaviors, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The Northwest Coast Tlingit people called it the Digging Moon, for animals preparing dens for hibernation, while the Dakota and Lakota people of the northern Plains referred to it as the Deer Rutting Moon.

The month also hosts one of the year’s major meteor showers. The Leonids peak in mid-November with bright, fast meteors and occasional fireballs with colorful tails, according to NASA. Every 33 years, the Leonids produce a rare meteor storm, with thousands of meteors streaking through the sky per hour, most recently in 2002. 

Fascinating November Facts

While November might remind us of historical events like the first official Thanksgiving, the Kennedy assassination or Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, here are a few lesser-known November facts:

• Only two U.S. presidents share a birthday. James Polk (1795) and Warren Harding (1865) were both born on November 2, exactly 70 years apart.
• November is the only month of the year represented in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. (Before 1956, the letter “N” was represented by “nectar.”)
• On November 3, 1957, a stray dog named Laika became the first animal to orbit Earth on the Soviet Sputnik 2 satellite. Sadly, the black-and-white mutt did not survive the flight.
• Trailblazing journalist Nellie Bly began her record-breaking 72-day journey around the world on November 14, 1890, inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. 

Forgotten Holidays and Celebrations

Take Halloween’s trick-or-treating, add some songs about ale, throw in a little ironwork and you’ve got St. Clem’s Day, traditionally held on November 23 across England. The feast day, which began in the 16th century (and is only sparsely celebrated today), honors St. Clement, the fourth pope who was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea, thus becoming the patron saint of blacksmiths and seafarers. Traditionally, Clementide festivities included the dangerous tradition of anvil firing, where gunpowder caused loud explosions, and people sang boisterous songs while going door-to-door collecting apples and other treats. Blacksmiths feasted and toasted an effigy known as “Old Clem,” while bands played into the night. 

Each November 25, Tudor villagers celebrated Cattern Day, to honor St. Catherine, the patron saint of lace and textiles. In the Midlands, children attending lace schools dressed in white, crowned a queen and paraded the streets, collecting coins and spiced Cattern cakes, according to Joanna Bogle’s A Book of Feasts and Seasons. At night, they played “leap-candle,” jumping over a lit lacemaker’s candle for luck. The tradition faded by 1890, Bogle notes, with the decline of the lace trade. 

Other lesser-known November celebrations include Will Rogers Day, observed on November 4, which Congress recognized in 1979 to commemorate what would have been the humorist’s 100th birthday. Sadie Hawkins Day, taking place the first Saturday in November, was inspired by Al Capp’s 1937 “Li’l Abner” comic strip, where women humorously “chased” men in a race for marriage. The tradition quickly spread to colleges and evolved into dances where girls invited boys. And for those with fur families, note that November 1 is the day to spoil your cats and dogs on National Cook for Your Pets Day. 

Not-So-Forgotten Festivals

In Thailand, people still widely celebrate the Loy Krathong festival on the full moon of the 12th lunar month. That’s when they release lighted decorated baskets, or krathongs, onto rivers and waterways to honor the water goddess and wash away misfortune. The celebration symbolizes gratitude, renewal and the letting go of past regrets and negativity.

In Peru, the first week of November brings Puno, a festival commemorating the founding of the Inca empire. Festivities center around a reenactment of the mythical arrival of Manco Cápac, the purported first Incan, on the shores of Lake Titicaca in a reed boat. Puno quickly evolves into wall-to-wall street parties.