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| Oh remember how short my time is:
For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men! Ps 89:47 |
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TIME fact 3:TIME: part 3
of 9
One of the most significant divisions of time is the Calendar Year. The exact
length of a calendar year is equal to 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46 seconds. Because
the length of a year is not a whole number it has affected the development of the calendar
over the years. Today most of the world uses the Gregorian Calendar. Other calendars have
been and still are being used. Yesterday a few of these calendars were presented. A few
more are presented today.
Muslim Calendar - A lunar calendar. The Muslim calendar is a 12 month lunar calendar.
There are months of 29 and 30 days alternating. The year totals 354 days. The calendar has
a 30 year cycle with designated leap years of 355 days. On leap years one day is added to
the last month every 30 years. The calendar dates its beginning at 622 AD. This is the
year of Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina. The Islamic calendar makes no attempt to
relate to the solar year. Because of the reduced number of days in the year and no
relationship to the solar year no month ever has any relationship to a particular season.
Jewish Calendar - A blend of a lunar and solar calendar. This calendar normally has 12
alternating months of 30-days and 29-days. The calendar has a 19 year cycle. Seven times
during each 19 month cycle an extra month is added to keep the lunar and solar calendar in
alignment. The extra month is a second "Adar" which is Adar Sheni or Veadar.
When the extra 29 day month is added, the month of Adar is also increased from 29 to 30
days.
Egyptian Calendar - A solar calendar. The Egyptians were the first to utilize a solar
calendar. They first used this calendar around 4236 or 4242 BC. Their year started with
the rising of the star Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. The year was 365 days long.
There was no allowance for the extra 1/4 day of the true solar year so over a period of
time the calendar did not coincide with the seasons. There were 12 months of 30 days,
consisting of six 5-day weeks. The remaining 5 days needed to total 365 days each year
were festival days added to the end of each year.
Sources: The Handy Science Answer Book - Visible Ink |
