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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 5:TIME: part 5
of 9
Division of the year into months and days is the major time measurement for humans.
For the past couple of days "Facts" has presented some different calendars. Some
of these were ancient calendars, some are still in use today. Calendars have generally
been developed around the phases of the moon for months. The year is often seasonal and
based on a solar year. The problem has been in relating the lunar calendar with the solar
calendar.
Hindu calendar - The principal Indian calendars mark their epochs from historical events,
such as the accessions or deaths of rulers, or from religious' founder dates. The Vikrama
era (used in western India) dates from February 23, 57 BC in the Gregorian calendar. The
Saka era dates from March 3, 78 AD in the Gregorian calendar. It is based on the solar
year with 12 months of 365 days and 366 days in leap years. The first 5 months have 31
days and the last 7 months have 30 days. During leap years the first 6 months have 31 days
and the last 6 months have 30 days. As of 1957 the Saka era is the national calendar of
India. The Buddhist era starts with 543 BC which is believed to be the year of the death
of Buddha.
In 1583 Joseph Justus Scaliger developed what is known as the Julian Day calendar. This is
a system of counting days rather than years. This calendar is still used by astronomers
today. Joseph Scaliger named this calendar after his father Julius Caesar Scaliger. This
calendar designates Julian Day (JD) 1 as January 1, 4113 BC. It was on this date that the
ancient Roman tax calendar, and the Julian calendar, and the lunar calendar all coincided.
This event will not occur again for 7,980 years. Every day within this 7,980 year period
is numbered. The number represents the number of days that have passed since the count
began. Charts have been devised to assist the astronomer in determining the date on this
calendar.
Two other calendars of note are the Perpetual calendar and the World calendar. The
perpetual calendar gives the days of the week for the Julian and Gregorian calendar. The
World calendar, similar to the perpetual calendar, has 12 months of 30 or 31 days, a year
day at the end of each year, and a leap day before July 1 every 4 years.
It is easy to see why dates are not always listed the same for the same event. Different
calendars of both religious and secular types do not necessarily correspond. With all the
calendars that we have mentioned over the last several days, one has plenty of choices for
a calendar to use. Even with this large choice, some are not satisfied with the way dates
are recorded and measured. There have been a number of attempts at calendar reform.
Even today there is a large scale movement to simplify and reform the calendar. One
example is the attempt to change the first day of the week to Monday. Many calendars are
being printed this way today. This places Saturday and Sunday at the week's end, with
Sunday as the last day of the week. There are suggestions for a International Fixed
calendar. This is a thirteen month calendar. Each month of the calendar has exactly 4
weeks. The additional month would be named Sol. Sol would be placed before the month of
July. With 13 months of 28 days the total number of days in a year are only 364. To equal
a solar year there will be a year day at the end of each year and a leap-year-day every 4
years before July 1.
Sources: The Handy Science Answer Book - Visible Ink |
