The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 13th, 1925. THE HISTORY OF THE CALENDAR.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 June 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 13th, 1925. THE HISTORY OF THE CALENDAR.

One of the most important fields of measurement, says a writer in the Decimal '‘Times’’, is that relating to time—a simple looking matter to-day, but one which "as only slowly swung to ami fro under the influence made by Galileo, who, ns a student at the University, frequently sat on the C’atlij edral of Pisa and observed the great I chandelier hanging from the cupola by a long chain, as it slowly swung to and fro under the influence of draughts. Using his own pulse for the purpose of comparison, he found that its oscillations always occupied the same period of time, and by subsequent experiments lie found the swings of a shorter pendulum to Ik? equally constant in time, although quicker. This discovery soon led to the production of clocks which kept time with an exactitude previously unknown. The resulting improvement in time measurement revolutionised astronomy, and was a leading factor in the development of moderen navigation. The measurement of time.in terms of years, months, weeks and days had been practised from time immemorial, but, owing to the lack of exact time measuring apparatus, the real length of the year

had never been determined, and all tho calendars previously devised had ultimately broken down, as they gradually led to .seasonal discrepancies. Most of the primitive nations divided the year into 12 months of 30 days, which gave such a short year that their New Year and the festivals, religious and civil, shifted at an alarming rale from summer to uinter. As those festivals generally governed the planting of crops, the results were serious, especially in Egypt, where the rising of the Nile formed a striking feature in agriculture and could only be foretold by the use of an accurate calendar. To a lesser extent the Babylonians and other nations felt the importance of crop planting dates and tried to create a satisfactory calendar by adding to the twelve months of thirty days some additional days which varied from year year to year, but the business was done erratically, each nation applying its own corrections, so that its New Year would rarely coincide with that of its neighbours. Such confusion was thereby created that the Romans after uniting the Mediterranean countries into one great empire found the situation intolerable and undertook the establishment of a general calendar. As the work was done under the guidance of Julius Caesar the result is known as the Julian Calendar, which prevailed throughout the western world during many centuries. As in the ease of other reforms, tho new calendar met with opposition, especially on account of the religious aspect of the matter. The Romans had some remarkable prejudices concerning each day ol the month and the proposal for rectification of the calendar by insertion of an additional day in every fourth year raised a storm of opposition on account of the change entailed in the succession of holy days for that month. As a compromise it. was agreed that the additional day he oaniotiilaged by having two successive days for the same name everv fourth year. As the sixth day of February was the day chosen for such twinning, the “leap” year was called bissextile (bissextus or twice sixth) anil this curious name still survives. In spite ol the care bestowed upon the matter, Caesar's calendar still suffered from certain delects, which, in the course of time, again produced trouble and eventually led to further reform. This time, however. action was taken by the ecclesiastical powers, who found that Christinas would soon become a summer event unless some change were made. I’ope Gregory therefore called together the best astronomers of bis time and they devised the so-called “Gregorian” calendar, under which we still continue to regulate our reckoning of time. The trouble had made itself felt long before and had been partly dealt with by a previous Pope, who shifted the festival of Faster and secured the assistance of Charlemagne in enforcing the change in Western Europe. The old Easter date was retained for many years. however, in England, where the monks from lona still held sway, and it is interesting to remark that St. Cuthhert retired broken-hearted to the Abbey at Lindi.sfarne when tho King of Northumberland decided to adopt the obnoxious Roman Easier dale. Many years later a similar course of events look place in England, when Pope Gregory's calendar was refused admittance for two centuries. In Russia it was not adopted until after the war. Outside of Christendom, various old calendars still survive, one of the most interesting being the Coptic, which consists of twelve months of 30 days and an odd week sometimes ol live and sometimes of six days. They do not date their years from MX'., hut from 281 A.IK. in honour of the martyrs who suffered under Diocletian. In the Mussulman calendar, which has been accepted hv many nations owing to the spread of Mohammedanism, the years are numbered from Mohammed's birth. (122 A.IK As this Calendar is based on the appearance ol the moon, a curious complication arises between the different Mohammedan nations. Fiuh nation counts the lirst. cf tie month as the day oil which ii lirst sees the crescent moon. As a result the most eastward nations get their firsts of the month a day later than the countries farther west. This is extremely inconvenient on aeionnt of the occurrence of the great religious festival during which every warlike tribe is supposed to call a truce with its bitterest enemy and to allow the passage ol pilgrims throughout, its territory without hurt or hindrance. The Mohammedan New Year usually occurs on the Kith. July. The Jews’ calendar was established in the fourth century 11.0. and is of great importance in fixing their festivals. Their months vary in iengtli from 2!l to 30 days and the year sometimes has thirteen months and at other times twelve. As with the Mohammedans, the Jewish month is intimately connected with the changes of the moon. As a freak in calendars no have the French Republican calendar, which flourished oiilv for a few years, beginning on September 22, 1702. and coming to an end on January 1, 18d(i when the Gregorian calendar was reestablished in France. It somewhat resembled the (.'optic calendar in that every month consisted of thirty days with an annual New Year holiday which came between tho end i.f one year and the beginning of the next amp ((insisted of five or six days after the manner of Caesar's bissextile device. A special feature of the calendar was tho decision of each mouth into three weeks of ton days, each day being numbered and named accordingly. This wanton interference with the Christian Sunday and Jewish Sabbath did much to damage tho decimal reform, and is a glaring example of the danger caused to every reform, by listening to the extreme zealots.