Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1882-01-25
NEW yeAe DAY.

NEW vEAA DAY.
Wig n Falls ~ ths Fissl ~ lsasssy esd SNNy rss
osys Ahss ~ Nlalss esisGss.
(From the New Yorh Evsnlns Mini
Why does the year begin ten day.
after the winter solsticei This u .
question which puzzled o great many
people, and by which NO one need be
ashamed to confess that be i puxxled.
OF course this IL very different ques-
ton from why does the year begin On
the first Of january Il 3 evident that
the year might begin tan days altar the
winter solstice, and yet the first day Of
the year be called the first Of July. To
combine the two questions into one. Ne
may ask, how does il happen that the
FIRST Of January ID the Arst day Of the
year and always falls on the eleventh
day after the winter solstice2 Every
person of general information knows
that the order Of things 10 an inheritance
from the ancient Romano, by whom this
order was appointed, and from whom il
has been transmitted century after cen-
fury to the year 1881. But why the
ancient Romans, thus Axed the matter 10
the puzzle. That they must have had
reasons which they deemed good for
making such arrangements il certain.
Aud it may interest some readers TO ex-
plain what those reasons were. Il will.
perhaps, make the explanation clearer Il
we resolve our compound question into
two, and consider hrst why is the first Of
January New Year day.
This query is satisfactorily answered
by Theodor Mommsen, now OF the uni
versity OF Berlin, the highest living
authority in all the world on the facts OF
Roman history. The publication OF the
first two volumes Of his History q Rome.
in 1854, maxAn IN epoch in that ileld q
inquiry, and gained him the great 0er-
man prize Tor the most important his
torical contribution Of the time. We
may mention, for the benefit Of those
who may like to verify what We are
about to say, that Mommsen's complet-
ed works was translated into English by
Rev. DR.. Dickson, and this English
translation has been republished in this
country by Scribner, Armstrong 4 Co.
Mommsen describes the rising Of the in
habitants of what il now known - Spain
and Portugal against the tyranny of
their Roman masters, and tells M how
those Spaniards and Lusitanians were at
first completely successful The his
which we have referred, thereupon pro-
ceeds to say:
"The Romans ct home took matters
30 seriously ~ to resolve ON sending q
consul to Spain, . step which had not
been taken since 1876 y. c., and in order
to accelerate the dispatch Of aid, they
even made the new consuls enter on
Office two months and Q half before the
legal time. For this reason the day for
the consuls entering on Office was shifted
from the 18th of March to the LIST OF
January, and thus was established the
beginning of the year which We still
make use of at the present time"
This, wepresume, will settle the matter
care for all reasonable men. No one will
to question the authority of Mommsen,
who, We may add, still ives at . veneer
able age, to receive ct Berlin New Year
greeting and the homage Of all who de-
light to honor talent combined with pro-
found learning. We may fely upon
Mommsen when he says that the sole
reason why our New Year Day 10 the 1ss
of January is that more than nineteen
hundred years ago Spanish and Portu.
guese barbarians took it into their heads
to revolt against their Roman masters
and 20 far succeeded that the masters in
their alarm put the clock of the year
ahead two months and q half and in that
way fixed New Year Day for all the GEN.
| k~~,. fAa~ -
This question being thus settled, there
remains the other question, Why doe
January LIST fall when it does? Why
does it fall on the eleventh day after the
winter solstice? Why not on the
twelfth, or fifteenth or twenty first
Why does it fall on. the winter solstice
For that there would be . good reason.
The winter solstice is an important nat.
ural event. 1t il the shortest day in the
year. Then there is . change in nature.
The sun begins to mount higher in the
sky and the days begin to lenthen.
70 answer this second question il il
necessary to recall some elementary
knowledge. It il needful 10 remind
readers that originally the Roman yea,
was composed OF ten months, each month
lasting from new moon to new moon.
December was the last month of this old
Roman year, as its name shows. On
course the Romans Of those early times
found out that their year Of ten months
was altogether too short, and they added
to it two months, which they called Jan.
uary and February, and which were thu
eleventh and twelfth months Of the an.
Gent Roman wear.
But even after they had made the yea,
twelve months long, it was, need hardly
say, still too short. The actual hme
from one winster solstice to another i
365 days and some hours, and the ancient
Roman year of twelve months had bui
354 days. 1t was therefore provided tina,
every other year there should be an I'd.
ditional month, Of length sufficient e
bring the year right. But - to the pre-.
else length OF this additional month 1
discretion was given to the Pointer
Maximus. 20 that he could shorten o.
lengthen it - the course Of time might
require. This discretion, - might have
been expected, the pontifs did mot fail "a
abuse. They we're very high and
mighty personages, and they were mol
to be tied down to few days more o.
less, sun, moon aud stars to the CON.
traEy notwithstanding. They did moi
hesitate to lengthen or abridge the addi-
tiopal month, in order TO prolong the
term Of magistracy or hasten the an
nusl elections; OF, in other words, tc
serve their own personal and political
ends. In the course Of time they got The
year in great pickle.