January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as the day of New Year. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer).
January symbols: The birthstone of January is the garnet which represents constancy. Its birth flower is the cottage pink Dianthus caryophyllus or galanthus. In Finnish, the month of tammikuu means the heart of the winter and because the name literally means Oak moon. The zodiac signs for the month of January are Capricorn (until January 19) and Aquarius (January 20 onwards). The traditional English birth month flower is the Carnation.
Historical Events for January, 1987
Day of Week 1st » A value added tax is introduced in Greece for the first time.
Day of Week 4th » The 1987 Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train 'en route' to Boston named Boston, Massachusetts from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people.
Day of Week 20th » Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
Day of Week 22nd » Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself during a televised press conference, leading to debates on boundaries in journalism.
22nd » Philippines or Philippine security forces Mendiola massacre named open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañan Palace, Manila, killing 13.