>The date I have is 24 May. The two different dates are due to calendar
>changes. Julius Caesar established a calendar in 45 B.C. This is the Julian
>or Old Style (O.S.) calendar. It and had three common years containing 365
>days, and one year (leap year) containing 366 days (every fourth year). This
>twelve-month calendar was based on a solar year.
>
>
>By the Julian calendar, the first day of the year was March 25th
Actually, calendar Sosigenes designed for Julius Caesar had New Year's
day on January 1. It had been in March (that's why September, October,
November, and December are named as the seventh, eighth, ninth, and
tenth months, counting from March) and later reverted to March.
By the way, it's Augustus' fault that February only has 28 days;
he took one day to add to August, so his month would be as long
as Caesar's month of July.
The Gregorian calendar that Lilius and Clavius designed with
its leap days every four years (except for century years, unless divisible
by 400) was accepted by most Catholic countries shortly after the papal Bull
Inter Gravissimas of 1582. Pope Gregory only had to take 10 days at that time.
This was in the middle of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, so
most Protestant countries only accepted the new calendar later,
for example Germany and the Netherlands in 1698.
James VI of Scotland was quicker to act:
``...his Majestie with the advise of the Lordis of his Secreit Counsall
statutis and ordanis that in all tyme cuming the first day of the yeir
sal begin yeirlie upoun the first day of Januare....''
Registrar of the Privy Council, 17 December, 1599
He also changed to the Gregorian calendar at the same time.
http://www.tartans.com/articles/thisdaydec171599.html
Orthodox countries tended to lag behind even farther in adopting
the Gregorian calendar. The October Revolution won by the Bolsheviks
actually occurred in November by the Gregorian calendar, but Russia
only accepted that calendar after that revolution, in 1918.
Greece was even later, in 1923. The Orthodox liturgical calendar
is still Julian, just as the Jewish and Muslim ones are still lunar.
Saturday, May 25 2002
May 12 2002 Old Style
12 Raby` al-awal 1423 A.H.
Sivan 15, 5762
http://www.ecben.net/calendar.shtml
John S. Quarterman <jsq@quarterman.org>
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