The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1879-12-24
NEW YEARS DAY.

NEW YEARS. DAY.
n v Observed for a Long Period--Old Style
and Ne.--Varisus Lengths of the Year.
There are three natural phenomena
which afford divisions of time: FIRST,
the rotation OF the earth on its axis, which
gives rise to the solar day-that is, the
interval between the periods when the
sun Comes to the same meridian or line
drawn directly north and south; second,
the time from new moon to new moon,
or from full moon until it again appears
with its whole surface illuminated; third,
the revolution of the earth around the
sun causing the seasons and marking
the period called year. As the time
which elapses between one full moon
and the next following it could be more
easily observed than any other change,
and this was found to be nearly equal
to thirty solar days, and twelve of these
periodical appearances of that body
brought the different seasons at nearly
the same time; the year YVES made to con-
sist of twelve lunations, or of three hum
dred and sixty days. Hence the reason
why the circle was divided, as il still
continues to be, into three hundred and
sixty equal parts, called degrees.
The first approximation, however, to
the true length of the year was made by
means of the stylus or gnomon, prob
ably the first astronomical instrument.
This WAS merely rod or pole set per-
pendicularly, which cast a shadow on q
level plain. 1t was then found that
there was one period when the shadow
was longest; another when it was short
est and two periods, the equinoxes,
when it was of the same length. It wac
also observed that the interval between
one of those and its return was about
the one-sixth of luDation, or five days
more than twelve lunar months. This
difference between the civil year obtain
ed from the phases OF the moon, and the
astronomical year, dedueed by the aid
Of the gnomon and other means, led to
various methods of adjusting them to
each other. The Egyptians, Chaldeans
and Assyrians, as the Mohammedans
still do, ,reckoned by lunar months,
twelve Of which composed their year,
while the Mexicans, for some unknown
reason, divided their year into eighteen
parts. The Greeks, as early as the time
of Scion, who hourished in the sixth
century before the Christian era, endeav.
ored to make the calendar or lunar
year and the astronomical agree by add.
Ing a month every four years, which
was too much, and was probably recti.
fed by observing the ripening of the
fruits. Numa, the great Roman law
giver, who died B. @. 672, added Janu.
airy and February to the year, which
before had consisted of only ten months
He also made some reformation in the
xphiol, 1,u TINA If 1nlins
Cesar, had fallen into so much of con
fusion and had SO far varied as to make
the days set apart for floral offerings to
the gods and the seasons in which flowers
were produced entirely disagree. He
therefore, as Pontifex Msximus, Chic
Priest, introduced, b. O. 46, what il
called Julian Calendar. The year was
made 10 consist of 365 days and increase
| every fourth year one day by counting
| the sixth day before the first of March
| twice. Hence the name bissextilis (twics
the SIXTH. But the tropical year, Oh
period from one equinox to the same
equinox again, is not exactly 365 day.
and six hours, as Julius Caesar suppos
ed, but between ten and eleven minutes
less. This small fraction in the course
of century amounted to three-fourths
of day. 1t thus caused vernal equi
nox to fall earlier every year, and Pope
Gregory Kill, being DESTROYS that il
should fall on or near the 21st of March
the day On which it happened when the
Council of Nice was held, in 1876, directed
that the day succeeding the 4th o.
| October, 1882, instead of being called
| the 5bh should be denominated the 18th
thus correcting the error of ten day.
which had arisen between 1926 and 1882
He also ordered that February shoule
be made to consist of twenty-nine day.
| in all years the number of which wa
exactly Invisible by four but not by ont
! hundred, and in every century which
| could be evenly divided by 400. b.
this arrangement the difference between
civil and astronomical time amounts tx
only day in nearly $500 years. Tit
New Style, as it is called. was immedi
| ately adopted in all Catholic countries
but in England and her colonies the Ole
Style was retained until 1852. AS th.
error then amounted to eleven days
Parliament enacted that the 81 of Sep
| TENDER, 1852, should be reckoned til,
14th. The new style was adopted il
Denmark and Sweden in 1853, and il
| now used in all Christian countries excep
Russia, where, it is said, measures are
| being tak-n to introduce it. But If the
| length of the year has varied at differ
emit periods, and among different nations
| the time of its commencement has also
| been far from uniform. In many eoun
| tries there have been two beginnings o.
that period, the one civil and the othel
| ecclesiastical.
The Romans began their year witt
March, the period at which military
operations were usually commenced By
that warlike people. In most Christian
countries two beginnings of the yeal
prevailed for several centuries. One Of
these, the astronomical. began when the
earth was at its perihelion or point
nearest to the sun, corresponding to the
present 1st of January, and the Other
at the Annunciation, 25th of March
The ancie MT French historians reckonec
their era from the death of st. Martin,
A. d. 401 or 402, and began their yeal
the next day after Easter. They die
not begin to reckon from January unit
1864, by virtue Of an oroiaance 81
Charles TX. In England there WERE
also two periods at which the year was
commenced-one the astronomical, or
the LIST of January and the other at the
25th of March, though the 18th of Dec
ember and the LIST of March were some
times used. Hence in old records the
interval between these two periods ff
generally written with o double date
as January, 1875 36. By an act Of
Parliament in 1852 the first OF Januaiy
was made the beginning of the year fol-