Delaware journal., 1828-12-12


Revolution of l6S9."
The wear. properly so Called is the solar year. or
the period of time in which the sun passes through
the twelve signs of the Zodiac. inns pef'oo com.
prises s65 days, 5hours, 48 minutes, 81 seconds
dec;mals and is called the astronomical year.
The Calendar is table of the days Of the year,
arranged to assist the distribution Of time and to
indicate remarkable days connected with devotion
or business. II every nation had adopted the same
divisions Of time, and uniform calendar had Deen
general throughout civilized states, history wou'a
present much fewer difficulties and contradictions.
The progress of astronomical science has hecessa-
rily produced great changes in the manner OF a'Vi
ding time: and thus, whilst some nations nave peell
ready to give their caendarevery possible advantage
of scientific construction. the preludces OF others
have rendered them unwilling to depart IRON their
accustomed mode however inaccurate. 1t may pc
curious and instructive to trace, very Driehy, the
changes of the calendar ordinarily called the chan
ges of style.
The Romans call the first day Of each month
CaIends, from word which sishhed cdHea De-
cause the pontis on those days called the people to-
gether. to apprse them of the days Of festival in that
month Hence we derive the name OF CALENDAR.
The Roman calendar, which has IN great part
been adopted bv almost all nations, is stated TO nave
been introduced by Romulus the founder OF the city
He divided the year Into ten months only Mars
Aprilis Maius, Junius Quntilus, afterwards call,
eli julius Sextillus, afterwards called Ausustus.)
September, October. November, December. Mars.
Maius Quintilis, and October, hau 81 days. ana
each of the other six months so days SO that tie
ten months comprised 504 days. The year ol ltom-
MUS was. therefore, of so days less duration than
the lunar YEAR and of 6i days less than the solar
year: and its commencement OF course dld mol cor
respond with any fixed season Nulna Pompus
corrected this calendar, by adding two mouths,
Januarius and Februarius. which he placed before
Mars. julius Caesar, being deslrous to render the
calendar still more correct, consulted the astrono-
mers of his time, who fixed the solar year at 500
DAYS hours comprising as they thought the peri
cd from one vernal equinox to another. Inc SIX
hours were set aside and at the end ot our, form
ing day. the fourth year was made 10 CONSIST Of oot
days. The day thus added was called lntercaary
aud was added to the month Of February. by dunb
ling the Gath of that month"; or, according to then
way of reckoning the sisah OF the caends OF march
Hence the year was called bsseXtlle. l MS Amos
perfect arrangement, which Was denomlnacd thu
Julian style, prevailed generally through the chris
tan world till the time Of Pope Gregory MI. Ih'
Calendar of julius Cesar was defective in this par
ticular that the solar year consisting OF 800 day
hours and 40 minutes, and not oil SOS days hours
as was supposed in the time Of Julius Caesar, ther
was difference between the apparent year and tn
real year of eleven minutes. This difference at tn
time Of Gregory XII had amounted to ten entr
of the 2lst of March, which period it fell correct
" at the time of the Council OF Nice; in the yea
S25. To obviate this Inconvenience, Gregory OF
dained, in 1889, that the 18th of October should
counted instead Of the 9th, for the future and,
prevent the recurrence of this error, it was deter
mined that the year beginning century should NJ
be bissextile, with the exception Of that beeinnD
each fourth century. Thus 1900 and 1900 ha,
not been bssextile nor will 1900 be so /; but Il
wear 1000 viii be bissextile In this manner thre
DAYS are rerenched in 400 years, because the laps
of the eleven minutes malts three days in about thi
period The year of the calendar is thus made
nearly as possible to correspond with the true soli
year and future errors of chronology are avoided
The adoption of this change, which is called Il
Gregorian, or New style (thc Julian being ca'le
the Old Style,) was for some time resisted BY stat,
rot under the authority of the See Of Rome. II
change Of the style in England was established
an act of Parliament, passed in 1859. 1t was the
enacted that the year should commence on the j.
of January, instead of March 25; aud that in Il
wear 1859, the days should be numbered as usui
until September 2, when the day following shou
be accounted the 18th September, omittng eeve
DAYS. The Gregorian principle of drnppns OF
day in every hundredth year, except the fourth hui
dredth, was also enacted. The alteration was fl
long time opposed by the prejudccs of individual
and even now, with some persons, the old style Is
pertinaciously adhered to, that rents are made pa
able on the old quarter days. instead Of the me-
The Russians still retain the old style. thus creatlI
an inconvenience in their public aud commercial! i
tercourse with other nations, which we trust TIL
the growing intelligence of the people will event
ally correct
During the period in which France was Repu
lie. the authorities introduced an entire change
the calendar, which was in existence more than
years and is important to be noticed, as all I
pubic acts Of the H Fench nation were dated accor
ing to this altered style. The National Cnnyento
by decree of the 5th October, 1895. established
new era, which was called, in the place Of the Chr
tian era, the era Of the French. The commene
ment of each year, or the st g Vendmlalre," "
fixed at the midnight commencing the day on VIII
the autumnal equinox fell. as dctcrnliued at the