Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-01-30
WHY January 1 is New Year.

Every one knows that January ! is
the beginning of the year, but not ev.
cry one knows why it is so. 1t marks
no natural division of time nor any
event in the worlds history which would
give it such distinction. The winter
solstice-that is, the perioi when the
sun appears to reach its greatest south.
ern declensiop, or furthest point south
OF the equator, occurs December %,
nine days before the new year begins.
The sumner solstice, another natural
division OF time, occurs on June %, a
point nearly as far removed from the
new year as the calendar permits. The
natural divisions of time which suggest
themselves at once to the practical OBJ
server are the winter and summer SOL
stices and the vernal and autumnal equi.
noxes, periods at which the days and
nights have equal length or their great
est difference. These having been
neglected, the moons phases wonld
seem to have been been most likely TO
be fixed upon. But imperial Caesar,
who in 46 B. q. gave us our new year.
governed by caprice or reasons Of the
most temporary duration; departed
from the former Roman system of reck-
oning the year from the winter
solstice and made the commencement
on January ] for no better reason than
the desire to inaugurate his reform with
a new moon.
The C&sarean system, devised by the
aid OF Losigenes, constituted the ordi-
nary year of 365 days and the fourth or
extraordinary year Of 366. The sub
division of the year into months was
similar to the present system. THIS di.
vision OF time, though imperfect, is
still practicei in Russia. The error
was in giving the year 365t days, which
IS too much bv about eleven minutes.
Pope Gregory XIII ordered October 8,
1881, to be called the 18th, and that all
certurlal years which are not multiples
OF 400 should not be leap years, which
omission of three leap years in every
400 years gives the civil year an average
length of 365 days, hours, 49 minutes
and II seconds, which still exceeds the
true solar year by fraction of a sec
ond, which amounts to a day only in
1856 years. The present, or Gregor-
Ian, system is used by all Christendom,
except Russia. 1t was adopted by
England in 1752 and by France in 1864
Prior to the reformation of the calen-
dar by julius Cesar, and many centur-
les afterward, the methods of dividing
time were various, complicated and i'm
perfect. The moon WAS the planet
which influenced and governed most
nations, and gave rise to UNIVERSAL yari-
ance between the natural aud civil year.
The religious feasts of the Christian
church are still regulated by the moon.
Tue Council of Nice provided that
Easter, the central point by which all
other days in the church calendar are
fixed. should fall on the first Sunday
after the first full moon occurring on or
after March 2l. The complex method
Of making these lunar periods CORE
spond with the civil year is evidence
enough of the difficulty OF arranging
any system for the computation of tune
by the ''inconstant moon." Our week
and month are not natural divisions Of
time, though some ingenious efforts
have been made to trace some connec-
tion between patural phenomena and
the ,erioi of seven days.