Index

1. The calendar. history …

2. Ancient Calendars

3. Religious calendars

4. Origin of the name of the months of the year.

1. The calendar. history …

Calendar, time measurement system for the needs of civil life, with the division of time into days, months and years. The divisions of the calendar is based on the movements of the Earth and the regular appearances of the Sun and the Moon. A day is the average time required for one rotation of Earth on its axis. The measurement of a year is based on a rotation of the Earth around the Sun and is called seasonal year, tropical or solar. A solar year contains 365 days, 5 h, 48 m, and 45.5 s. A month is calculated initially by ancient peoples as the time between two full moons, or the number of days required for the moon to circle the earth (29.5 days). This measurement, called a synodic or lunar month, resulted in a lunar year of 354 days, 11 days shorter than a solar year. However, in the modern calendar the number of days in a month is not based on the phases of the moon. The length of the months is approximately one twelfth of a year (28 to 31 days) and adjusted to fit the 12 months in a calendar year. For information concerning the names and arrangement of the months, see the items in each of the twelve months. The week came from the Judeo-Christian tradition which provided a break from work every seven days. Not based on natural phenomena. The Romans gave the name to the days of the week in honor of the Sun, Moon and several planets.

The variations among the many calendars in use from ancient to modern times have been due to the inaccuracy of the first estimates of the duration of the year, together with the fact that a year can not be divided exactly by any other units Time: days, weeks or months. The earliest calendars based on lunar months eventually ceased to coincide with the seasons. Occasionally it was necessary to insert or add a month to reconcile lunar months with the solar year. A calendar that makes periodic adjustments of this type is called lunisolar calendar.

The first calendars were based on movements of the moon. After this proved to be inaccurate when the man learned that the Earth travels around its star. The Sun became the basis for recording the time as the lunar year was not consistent with the cycle of the Earth around the Sun Although there are still some calendars that are used today based on the cycle of the moon. These are usually well entrenched in tradition and would be difficult to change without affecting the culture, especially if these involve a religion. The current Jewish calendar is based on the movements of the moon starting with the year of its creation, as in 3760 BC. The Islamic calendar is also based on satellite meteor struck Earth.

The Egyptians were the first to take the sun as a reference guide. His is the distant descendant of the Gregorian calendar we use today. The month became an arbitrary unit that was previously connected to the cycles of the moon. The Egyptians used a 365-day year. It is believed that first adopted this calendar in the year 4236 BC. Later people learned that the Earth was spinning in a period of 365 days and about a quarter of a day revolving around the Sun Pharaohs and other leaders made several attempts to alter their schedules to reflect but missed out because of tradition or miscalculation the clergy who is assigned the task of looking after the movements of the calendar. Then came the Romans. At first they used a system based on the Moon that was very complicated. His accuracy was entrusted to the “College of Pontiffs” who abused the privilege for their own benefit. At the time Julius Caesar was virtual dictator of Rome and the calendar was a mess. In 47 BC, he called the famous Greek astronomer Sosigenes to try to fix things. Following the suggestion of Sosigenes, Caesar decided to adopt the solar year as did the Egyptians. He gave a year for a period of 365 days and a quarter day. The fourth day was held for 4 years and then was added as a “leap year.” To honor Julius, the Senate changed the name of the month Quintilis by Julius (July). Julius also had to make adjustments due to errors in the old calendar. The problems did not end there, after being assassinated in 44 BC Popes decided by the calendar insert the leap year every third year instead of every fourth year. When Augustus Caesar restored stepped in correct leap year / 8 DC As you might have guessed, the Senate also honored this changed by renaming the month Sextilis Augustus (August). In this schedule referred to as the Julian calendar, for obvious reasons. In the year 321 AD Emperor Constantine created the seven-day week forgetting the old complicated system of “calendars” developed by the Romans to refer to days in a month. As the technology was available it was discovered that the actual length of the solar year is 365.242199 days, or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. This means that the Julian calendar was retrasadisimo for approximately 11 minutes. After a few centuries, this delay would soon be reached for several days. Again, the calendar began to depend on the seasons.

In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII requested the services of the mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius-physical Luigi Lilio Ghiraldi to correct the error. They found that the error reached 10 days. In October 1582 the schedule was re-adjusted to fix the error. Day 4 was followed by 15 for 10 days lost. This created problems for people born on 5 but made reference to that time either using the SV system (old system) or SN (New System). Then the leap-year rule was changed to avoid further errors. Now any centurial years (ending in “00″) would only be a leap year if it was divisible by 400. Therefore the 1600 was a leap year but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. This calendar became the “Gregorian”, which is what we use today. All Roman Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian reform immediately, but others were slow to follow. The English did not begin to use it until 1752. The French followed the Gregorian from the beginning but changed in 1792 and returned to him in 1805. Japan followed in 1873, China 1912, 1924 Greece and Turkey 1927. Russia had an experience similar to France during the Bolshevik Revolution but returned to it in 1940. Since then a few people have been dissatisfied with the calendar and tried to reform, but a significant change could not be made because the world can not agree on a new system. In 1923, 500 new reforms were heard in the League of Nations. Two new schedules have emerged as favorites: Thirteen Month Calendar and World Calendar. But these were accepted by majority of nations due to conflicts with national holidays and important business community said it could complicate things. There were others who came close but too many to list. So it seems that still retain the Gregorian calendar at the moment. You must remember, therefore, that dates prior to October 15, 1582 can not be calculated simply going back in time a certain number of days from today. Time is not linear in this sense because of all the changes that have taken place in our daily lives invariably use the calendar to keep track of time. For example the July 21, 1969 marks the arrival of man on the moon while December 25 is Christmas. This way of marking the passage of time suffers from a flaw: it is difficult to compare how many days have elapsed between two events, such as the arrival of man to the moon and the last Christmas. One must consider how many years apart and which were leap, how many months and which (many February), many days, etc … to finally get to know how many days separandos dates. When he finally does one outcome is better to repeat the account to check if it went well. Astronomers avoid this problem by counting days in a sequence: the Julian day. In 1582, Joseph Justus Scaliger invented the concept of Julian Day, named in honor of his father, Julius Caesar Scaliger (as opposed to the Julian calendar invented by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar). Julian day cycle covering 7980 years commencing from 1 January of the year 4713 BC and ending on December 31 of 3267. This cycle goes on multiplying three minor cycles: a 28-year solar named another 19 years that includes the moon phases and a so-called 15 years indiction. Astronomers have methodically resulting cycle count and they know that October 10 was the Julian day 2450000. The Julian days are more convenient to compare events: we need only a simple subtraction to know that as a landmark astronomical significance, as was the explosion of a supernova in a nearby galaxy Julian Day 2,446,850, occurred 3164 days ago. Moreover, in an effort to use more accurately, astronomical events are indicated by fractions of Julian day and so an observation that was made on 10 October at 4:12 a.m. when Tonantzintla, Puebla, correspond to the Julian day 2449999.925 . The Julian Day begins at noon Greenwich Mean Time, this is at 6 am central time in our country. The Julian day is also helpful to prevent confusion when comparing events occurring before the various reforms that have had the calendar we use today. The old version of our calendar had 12 months of 30 days, thatis missing him at least 5 days. Over the years, the dates did not coincide with the seasons and it was necessary to add 5 more days to the calendar. Even so the schedule was delayed compared with the start of the season and was necessary to reform: in the year 45 BC the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, advised by the astronomer Sosigenes, Julian lcalendario instituted and which had 365 and 1 / 4 days per year, Intercar an extra day every fourth year. The delay had accumulated the previous calendar year was such that the reform of the calendar had 445 days and was called “ year of confusion.” The resulting Julian year is actually about 11 minutes longer than the astronomical year of 365.2422 days, defined by the movement of the Earth around the Sun

Al over the years, the accumulation of these minutes forced the Pope Gregory XIII to perform another bypass reform was to leap three days every 400 years: the 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, 2000 if you will . I wish I could see a young player that will not be leap year 2100. In this second calendar reform was also necessary to change the dates and the October 4, 1582 was followed by October 15, 1582. In some countries like England later gave this reform and that the September 2, 1752 was followed by the 14th of September. Many citizens believed they had taken 11 days of their lives and the turmoil that some people were killed. The even more recent example is the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Russia: this happened in 1918, during the October Revolution. Those familiar with this period of history have noted that there is some confusion about the dates of some historical events. The Gregorian calendar is ahead 1 day every 3000 years and will be long before another reform is needed. In fact, before that astronomers have already reached the end of its cycle of 7980 years and will need to specify the Julian cycle studies. For now we hope that our readers have been a happy Julian Day 2,450,000.

2. Ancient Calendars

The Chinese calendar

Any system that respects astrology is based on a scientifically established timetable on a system of unbreakable cycles of which can not be ignored in understanding the basics of interpretation. Therefore, despite the aridity of a rather theoretical exposition, we judged necessary to go through the explanation of the Chinese calendar. We promise to be as short as possible, and confine ourselves to the essential concepts for astrology, leaving aside the rest of the data. As the time will seem shorter …

The cycles are the fundamental rhythm of the world, which suffers periodic returns to situations similar to those already found before. Continuity and rupture in the universe continues its existence, just as every man within itself, with its own characteristics. The movements are sometimes contradictory and other complementary and are never strangers to each other. Is their sum which is the infinite variety to which we belong.

La Luna

To simplify somewhat, one could say that western astrology builds on the solar cycle and Chinese astrology, however, the lunar cycle. But it is too schematic to be true in a way so simple, because, obviously, the moon is an important planet in the Western astrological system and the sun has its place in Chinese astrology. However, the starting point is different. The average value of the lunar month is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes. Is the time it takes the Moon to go around the Earth. This poses a practical problem that we will speak immediately to avoid re-mentioning. Indeed, if there are twelve lunar months in a year, we fell short, and the year does not correspond to the time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun, however, must return to this larger unit for time not be outdated

Then, as relatively complex rules, it is useless to detail here, the Chinese calendar adds an occasional “month bis’, which gives certain years thirteen lunar months, thus restoring the balance.

In Table 1, we have identified these lunations added in a particular way. But if you read carefully the characteristics of each month, find that at times are identical for two months straight. It is the second month, repeat the first one corresponds to one of these lunar months of “playoffs.” Do not give therefore more important.

Ten Celestial Stems

Interestingly, the first cycle appeared in the history of the Chinese calendar, and based on a number, corresponding to number 10. That happened about 1500 a. JC, at a time when the West was far from knowing how to count as the decimal system. In fact, no question here of a decimal system, why not multiply the scores together, as is done by adding zeros.

Ten Celestial Stems have been, associated with the day, every day is-represented by one of the ten Chinese characters that mean one of the trunks. Then the penny rate, so called to mark well the difference with the decimal, also applies to the years and months. There is a very simple correspondence between the Celestial Stems and the five elements, of which we detail below: Each trunk is also Yin and Yang. Here is a list of the ten celestial trunks with his Chinese name first and then the Vietnamese-is one or the other according to the authors.

Vietnamese Chinese name Element name Yin / Yang

Giap Kia Yang Wood

At Wood Yi Yin

Binh Fuego Ping Yang

Dinh Ting Yin Fire

Yang Mau Earth Wou

Earth Yin Ki Ky

Canh Keng Yang Metal

Hsin (or Sin) Metal Yin Tan

Water Nham Jen Yang

Qui Kouei Yin Water

The twelve Earthly Branches

After the logs are the branches, they are called, sometimes, also Ramos, marking but its dependence on the former. They are twelve and that number is the basis for many cycles, of which the main ones are:

– The twelve symbolic animals, or signs;

– The twelve lunar months of the year;

– Twelve hours a day.

Here you also have to establish correspondences between the names of the earthly branches and the other features of the Chinese horoscope. The tradition holds them:

Element Name Chinese Yin / Yang Orientation Station

Yang Tseu North Water Winter

Yin Earth Tcheou Center

Wood Yin Yang This Spring

Wood Mao Yin This Spring

Yang Earth Tchen Center

Summer South Seu Yin Fire

Wou Sur Fire Summer Yang

Earth Wei Yin Centre

Chen Yang Metal West Fall

Fall West Yeouido Yin Metal

Yang Hsiu Center Earth

Yin Hai North Water Winter

These cycles, valid for the hours, days, months and years, are called duodenary.

Sexagesimal cycle

When a cycle of base ten and a twelve base overlap, return to your starting point every sixty years. The result is the same whether hours, days, months or years.

Let’s look a little more attention in the period of sixty years, during which the land Branch duodenary cycle, corresponding to the sequence of symbolic animals, takes place five times and the cycle penny of celestial trunks, six.

This period is of course very important:

– In sixty years of human life is made and unmade. From childhood to retirement from active life, given enough time to learn and understand everything, if you have the deep desire for it.

– In sixty years the sky over the trunk and branches removed some of the gap and creates a moment that sets the benchmarks.

Every sixty years thus began a new cycle and is the occasion for the world to something like her virginity back. Naturally, there is nothing to erase cycles and closed, but everything becomes possible, and men and women of the whole world before them all hope …

On February 2, 1984 began a new cycle. If you look at this date in the table I can read from the year 1984, the indications: Yang Metal Rat – Wood / Water. Is the same data you would find if you consult the table in 1924, sixty years before.

A first cycle takes place, usually once in the course of human life, rarely twice and never three. It is, therefore, an exceptional circumstance.

In order to fix things properly, and once again last Chinese calendar before moving to the explanation of the astrological symbols themselves, we will need even an important thing.

In 1984 he began the 78 grand cycle of sixty years. The Chinese astrological tradition can, therefore, easily dated ago in 1984, 4,620 years that astrologers use this technique of reading the world. It is not, therefore, a recent invention and approximate, but an established science for a long time, the rules have been tested in millions of times.

The Egyptian civil calendar

The Egyptians developed the most accurate and complex calendar of antiquity. The Egyptian year consisted of 12 months of 30 days and 5 days (coinciding this with the Revolutionary Calendar). This calendar existed before 4000 BC. The calendar was based on observation of the output “heliaca” of the star Sirius (the brightest in the sky). It produces the output “heliaca” of a star as it returns to being visible on the horizon just before dawn, after the interval of time that prevented sunlight visibility. The time interval between two exits “heliaca” consecutive one star is the sidereal year, which does not exactly match the actual solar tropical year, which is what determines the timing of the seasons. The cause of that do not match the sidereal year and tropical year is the precession of the equinoxes to our planet. Anyway, the difference between them is relatively small.

The Egyptian civil calendar civil or official The calendar is the first Egyptian solar calendar that has been reported. The ancient peoples measured year by lunar calendars. The Babylonians, highly concerned about astronomy and mathematics had a calendar based on lunar observations. However, the concept of month of the lunar phases implies constant observation of phenomena that are not at all regular. The duration of a lunation is variable and ranges from 29 days 6 hours and 29 days 20 hours, with half the lunar month of 29 days 20 hours 44 minutes 2 seconds. A calendar with months of 29 and 30 days fits nicely with the cycles of the moon. Would add 1 day to 1 month of 29 days every 30 months. Despite the difficulty of adjustment by the Moon, the solar calendar is even more complicated. Yet this was what the Egyptians used, although there are reports that in early times made use of a lunar calendar.

Official or civil calendar consisted of 365 days divided into 12 months of 30 days each, which added 5 more, known as epagomenos. These 5 days in Egypt “heriu repenet” were dedicated to the birth of Osiris, Horus, Seth, Isis and Nephthys, to be the days when the goddess Nut could give birth to their children, within four months from the curse of Ra (see story of Osiris). The months were grouped into seasons, each of which consisted of 4 meses.Estas were: the flood season (Acheta), winter or germination (Peret) and the summer heat (Shemu), also known as Station deficiency by the lack of water in the Nile 4 months of each of the stations, as Greece were: garlic or flood, or. Months: Thoth, Faofi, Athyr, Joiak Peret or germination (winter). Months: Tybi, mesh, Famenoth, Farmuthi Shemu or harvest (summer): Month: Pajon, Paini, Epifi, mesor These months were added after the last day of mesor, 5 days epagomenos. This was inaccurate or civil calendar. It began with the dawn of Sotis heliacal. Sotis was the name given to the star Sirius. Thus the year began when Sirius appeared on the horizon at the time of sunrise. This phenomenon, known as the heliacal rising of Sotis, occurred around the start of the annual flooding, and is roughly equivalent to July 19 or the Julian year to 15 June in our calendar on the latitude of Memphis. Now if we consider the Egyptian year of 365 days compared to 365.25 Julian days there is an error of 1 day every 4 years, ie the official beginning of the year was delayed one day every 4 years. Sothic year, or year Alexandrian, solar does not match exactly, but it is a few minutes longer, so Sothic period was 1460 years and 1461 Sothic civil or inaccurate This is a big mistake, 400 years after the start solar officer and 100 days would be diverted only every 1461 years coincide both earlier this year. Obviously the Egyptians observed this shift would cause the summer began in mid-Peret season (winter). And here is where the problem arose agriculture. The Egyptians, or at least the priests knew this deviation perfectly, it is not difficult to observe, and you can fine-tune the greater the observation time. But the civil calendar were not corrected, but the accumulated error. If we think that the date of the flood was the most important event of the year, it was necessary to calculate and draw the attention of managers of farming that would occur when, because using the civil calendar years that the day would flood fall in the middle of harvest season. It is possibly at this point that the priests used their power. It was they who calculated through a religious calendar based on astronomical observations, religious dates and flood. Why then did not change the calendar year, adjusting it to 365.25. The answer lies perhaps in the power that gave them the need to calculate not only the date of the flood but also certain religious festivals, and an amendment to the civil calendar that they would be lost “power.” It was a secret that the people should not know. The immediate result of the use of the religious calendar is that some parties were held the same day of the month and others are moved annually. In 238 BC during the reign of Ptolemy III, the Canopus decree established the so-called Alexandrian calendar, which established a epagomeno 6 days every 4 years. This era is the text of Diodorus in his book I said: “The months and years Egyptians are organized in a special way. The days do not respond to lunar movements, but the sun the Egyptians have the months of 30 days and after the twelfth add 5 days and a quarter, and thus made the revolution of the year. ” Later, Julius Caesar in 45 BC, Alexandria Sosisgenes suggestion, changed the length of the year in 365.25 days. But despite all the Egyptians followed reluctant to change their civil calendar, and it was not until 8.aC, the imposition of Augustus, who had to adopt it officially. This gives us a clear idea of the reluctance of priests to “publish” their secrets.

Home Calendar The astronomer Theon of Alexandria, starting from dawn Sotis heliacal of the year 139 Julian, which occurred on day 1 of the month of Thoth deduced that day 1 of the month of Thoth the years 1321, 2781 and 4241 BC also saw the phenomenon. This calculation is that it has been used to try to determine the beginning of the calendar. If we assume, as seems logical, that the calendar must have been born a year to coincide the dates, should be one of these. The year 1322 is too close, in the 2781 calendar existed as reflected “the texts of the pyramids.” This logic is leading many authors to “accept” the year 4241 as the beginning of the calendar, although it is true that the date seems too far to be true and unacceptable by many authors. Just keep in mind that all this theory is based on the assumption that the timetable had to start one of these years and it is reached by elimination of the above. We know that in 7 of the reign of Sesostris III (Twelfth Dynasty), the heliacal rising of Sotis occurred on day 16 of month 8, which means a delay of 225 days compared to the astronomical calendar. This allows us to conclude that at least 900 years (225 delayed by 4) had used the calendar. Likewise, knowing that during the reign of Amenhotep I (XVIII Dynasty), Year 9, dawn of Sotis heliacal occurred on day 9 of the 11th month (308 days late) we deduce that the civil calendar was used at least over 1232 years ago. Based on these data we obtain start dates of his reign in 1888 BC for 1558 for Sesostris III and Amenhotep I. In both cases we can deduce that the calendar of 365 days and was used around 2800 BC

Hebrew calendar:

It is based on the lunar calendar. The lunar month is approximately 29 1 / 2 days. Twelve lunar months are 354 days. The lunar cycle is 11 days and a quarter shorter than the solar year, this difference generates an increase in three years one month, which is why every two or three years an additional month to the calendar. Two months this year has called Adar. The current year on the Hebrew calendar is: 5761 – 2000

Israel Embassy Bombing Anniversary March 17

Fast of Esther March 20

Purim March 21

Passover April 20

Passover Seder 2nd April 21

May 2 Yom Hashoah

Yom Hazikaron May 9

Independence Day May 10

May 23 Lag BOmer

Shavuot 9 and June 10

The AMIA Bombing Anniversary July 18

Tisha BAv August 10

Rosh Hashanah Eve began September 29, 5761 Year

Rosh Hashanah 30 / 9 and October 1

Yom Kippur 8 and October 9

Sukkot 14 and October 15

Simchat Torah October 22

Chanukah 1st Day December 22

The Babylonian Calendar:

The early Babylonian calendar was lunar type. At first, the Babylonian year consisted of 12 months of 30 days, ie, who was almost 5 days and 1 / 4 less. After a few years, the “month of plowing,” for example, did not comply with such farming. Few months later shortened to accommodate more accurately the calendar to the regular appearance of the new moon. This measure further imbalance the calendar with the seasons. The Babylonians later resolved this difficulty by inserting a new month according to a given cycle. The ancient Babylonians had a lunisolar calendar of 12 lunar months of 30 days each, and added extra months when they needed to keep the calendar in line with the seasons. The ancient Egyptians were the first to replace the lunar calendar and a calendar based on the solar year. Measured the solar year as 365 days divided into 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 extra days at the end. To the 238 BCE King Ptolemy III ordered that adding an extra day every four years, it was so similar to the modern leap year. In ancient Greece used a lunisolar calendar, a year of 354 days. The Greeks were the first to insert extra months in the calendar on a scientific basis, adding months at specific intervals in a cycle of solar years.

The Roman calendar

The original Roman calendar, introduced to the seventh century BC, was 10 months with 304 days in a year beginning in March. Two months, January and February were added later in the seventh century BC, but as the months were only 29 or 30 days, you had to insert an extra month approximately every second year. The days of the month were designated by the awkward method of counting backward from three dates: the Kalends, or first of the month, the Ides, or mid-month, which fell on 13 some months and on 15 other , and the nones, or the ninth day before the Ides. The Roman calendar became very confused when officials were entrusted with the addition of days and months abused their authority to extend their positions or to advance or delay elections.

In 45 BCE Gaius Julius Caesar, following the advice of Greek astronomer Sosigenes (first century BC), decided to use a purely solar calendar. This calendar, known as the Julian calendar, fixed the normal year at 365 days and the leap year every four years, 366 days. The Julian calendar also established the order of the months and days of the week as listed in current schedules. In 44 BCE Julius Caesar changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July), by himself. Sextilis month was renamed Augustus (August) in honor of Augustus, which happened to Julius Caesar. Some experts maintain that Augustus established the length of the months we use today.

The Gregorian calendar

The Julian year was 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar year. This difference is accumulated until by 1582 the vernal equinox occurred 10 days before and the feasts of the church had no place in appropriate seasons. To keep the vernal equinox occurred at the March 21, as happened in 325 AD, the year of the First Council of Nicaea, Pope Gregory XIII issued a decree removing 10 calendar days. To prevent further displacement instituted a calendar, known as the Gregorian calendar, which stated that the centennial years divisible by 400 should be leap years and all the other years centenary year should be normal. For example, 1600 was a leap year, but 1700 and 1800 were not.

The Gregorian calendar is also called a Christian, because it uses the birth of Christ as a starting point. The dates of the Christian era are often referred to by the letters AD (AD) and BCE (BC)

The Gregorian calendar was adopted slowly in Europe. Today is effective in most of the western world and parts of Asia. The Soviet Union adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1918, and Greece adopted it in 1923 for administrative reasons, although many countries of Eastern Christianity retained the Julian calendar to celebrate the feasts of the church.

Although the birth of Christ was originally scheduled on December 25 of year 1 BCE, modern scholars now place it into the fourth year of our era.

Since the Gregorian calendar still entails months of different lengths, making dates and days of week change over time, there have been numerous proposals for a reformed calendar more practical. These proposals include a fixed calendar of 13 equal months and a universal calendar of four equal quarterly periods. So far none has yet been adopted.

3. Religious calendars

As indicated, the Gregorian calendar is basically a Christian calendar. The official calendar of the Christian Church is the annual list of the holidays, the days of the saints and feasts of the Church, the civil calendar dates in which they occur. These include the fixed feasts like Christmas, and movable feasts, which depend on the date of Easter. The calendar’s most important early Church was compiled by Furius Dionysius Philocalus the year 354. After the Reformation, the German Lutheran church retained the Roman calendar, as well as the Church of England and some other Anglican churches. The main stations of the church calendar observed by most Christians are, in order, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity.

The Jewish calendar

The Jewish calendar, which comes from the ancient Hebrew calendar, which remains unchanged from the year 900 or so. Is the official calendar of the modern state of Israel and is used by Jews throughout the world as a religious calendar. The starting point of Hebrew chronology is the year 3761 BC, the date of the creation of the world as described in the Old Testament. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar, based on lunar months of 29 and 30 days alternately. An extra month is inserted every three years, according to a cycle of 19 years.

Islamic calendar

Another fundamental religious calendar is the Islamic calendar, used in almost all Muslim countries. Is calculated from the year 622, the day after the Hegira, or out of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. The Islamic year has 12 lunar months. Thirty years constitute a cycle in the years 2, 5, 7, 10 o, 13 o, 16 o, 18 o, 21 o, 24 o, 26 o and 29 o are leap years of 355 days, others are common years of 354 days. The Islamic date corresponding to the Gregorian can be calculated with the following rule, with a maximum error of one day: multiply by 0.970224 Islamic year and add 621.5774. The figure to the left of the decimal point is the year after Christ, and the decimal fraction multiplied by 365 is the day of the year.

Aztec Calendar

The Aztecs used pictographic writing recorded on paper or animal skin. It still retains some of these writings, called codices. They also used a calendar system that had developed the ancient Maya. Had 365 days divided into 18 months of 20 days, which were added 5 days ‘gaps’ that were believed to bring bad luck and unfortunate. Also used a calendar of 260 days (20 months of 13 days) that applied only to guesswork. Education was very strict and taught from an early age. Women were urged to be discreet and demure in manner and dress and were taught all forms of housework, in addition to grinding and preparing food, consisted of pitted cotton, spinning, weaving and make clothes for the family. Men are inculcated warrior vocation. Since they formed small to be strong, so that bathed with cold water, wraps with light clothing and slept on the floor. In the manner of the Athenians of ancient Greece, sought to strengthen the character of children through severe punishment and the promotion of core values as love of truth, justice and duty, respect for parents and elders, rejection to lies and debauchery, mercy to the poor and destitute. The young people learned music, dancing and singing, besides religion, history, mathematics, interpretation of the codices, martial arts, writing and knowledge of the calendar, among other disciplines.

Maya calendar.

Calendar and religion

Among the Maya, the timing was determined by a complex calendar system. The year began when the sun crossed the zenith on July 16 and had 365 days, 364 of them were grouped in 28 weeks of 13 days each, and the new year began the day 365. In addition, 360 days a year is divided into 18 months of 20 days each. The weeks and months passed sequentially and independently of each other. However, starting the same day, ie once every 260 days, which both multiples of 13 (for the week) and 20 (for the month). The Mayan calendar, although very complex, was the most accurate of those known to the appearance of the Gregorian calendar in the sixteenth century. See Maya Astronomy.

The Mayan religion centered on the worship of many gods of nature. Chac, god of rain, was particularly important in popular rituals. Among the supreme deities were Kukulkan, the Mayan version of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl Itzamna, god of the heavens and knowledge; Ah Mun, God of corn Ixchel, goddess of the moon and protector of women giving birth, and Ah Puch, goddess death. A feature Maya was her total confidence in the control of the gods for certain units of time and all the activities of people during these periods.

Julian calendar:

The calendar introduced by Julius Caesar tried to bring some order to the way of counting time in the Roman Empire. Solved the problem by introducing extra quarter day is a leap year. Every four years the year is a day longer, and this fixes mostly slippage that occurred in the Egyptian calendar. However, not managed at all, because the year is 11 minutes and 14 seconds shorter than 365 days and a quarter. These errors began to pile up (mean 7 days in 1000 years) until they began to impede the observance of Easter.

4. Origin of the name of the months of the year.

Months and its History …

January

Until the reform of the calendar made by the second king of Rome, Numa Pompolio, which was added to the original ten months of Romulus, was the eleventh. .

February

Among the ancient Romans this month held the last place, while the current schedule can be found in second term.

March

In the early Roman calendar featured this month as the first of the year, the Numa Pompolio was second, and from the decemvirs until today we find in the third.

April

In the calendar of Romulus was initiated in April month of the year. Its Latin name “Aprilis” derives from the verb aperire, which means opening,

May

This month was the third in the early Roman calendar, and Numa Pompolio reform moved to fifth place he held in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

June

Among the Romans ranked as the fourth month of the year and was 26 days in the reform of Romulus was assigned 30 days Numa shortly after it fell to 29, until Julius Caesar decreed that 30 days had

July

Among the Romans was the fifth month of the year and therefore was called Quintilis, consisted of 36 days. Reduced it to 31 Romulus, Numa will remove one more day and Julius Caesar decreed that had 31 as at present preserved.

August

The month of August has 31 days from Julius Caesar added 2. This month has not always been on the calendar, the site now occupied.

September

As its name implies (septem, seven) was the seventh month of the Roman calendar, and this place occupied by the sequence of the months it came its name.

October

October set as the tenth month in the current calendar was the eighth in the year of Romulus, hence its Latin name of octo, eight.

November

The month of November, so called because in the original schedule of Rome was the ninth of those who were the year.

December

It was in the Roman calendar the last month or tenth, called by this December. After the year consisted of twelve months, interspersed with those of July and August which is named Recupero of Julius Caesar and Augustus.

 

Bibliography

The Land of the Pharaohs