Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1884-12-31
WHAT is A YEAR?

WHAT IS A YEAR?
We do not know who performed the la
Dor of compiling the following summary OF
a year as it is known. It is appropriate
and instructive. reading in connection with
the close of the past and the incoming of
the new year:
What is year? Its length is strictly
expressed by the space of time required
for the revolution of the earth round the
sun-uamely, 365 days, 5 hours, 4S min
utes, 40 seconds, and 7-10ths of second,
for to such nicely has this time been as
certained. But for convenience in reck-
oning it was found necessary to make the
year terminate with a day instead of a
fraction of one, Jumping the fractions to-
gether SO as to make up day among
themselves. About forty-ive years before
Christ, Julius Caesar, having, by the help
of Sosigenes, an Alexandrian philosopher,
come to tolerahly clear understanding as
to the length of the year, decreed that ev-
cry fourth year should be held to consist OF
366 days for the purpose of absorbing the
odd hours. The arrangement was rather
clumsy one. A day in February, the sixth
before the calends of March (sextilis) was
to be repeated in that fourth year. and
each fourth year was thus to be bissextile.
1t was as if we were to reckon the 22d OF
February twice over. Seeing that in real
lty a day every fourth year is too much by
II minutes, 10 seconds, and 3-10th Of a
second, it inevitably followed that the be-
ginning of the year moved onward ahead
of the point at which it was in the days of
Caesar; in other words the natural time fell
behind the reckoning. From the time of
the Council of Nice, in 1926, when the ver-
nal equinox fell correctly on the 21st of
March, Pope Gregory found in 1882 that
there had been an over-reckonlng to the
extent of ten days, and now the vernal equi-
nox fell On the 18th of March. To. correct
the past error he decreed that the 9Th of
October that year should be reckoned as
the 10th, and to keep the year right in fu-
ture, the overplus being Is hours, 81 min
utes, and 10 seconds in a century, he Or
dered that every centurial year that could
not be divided by Q700, 1900, 1900, 1000,
&C. should not be bissextile, az it other
wise would be; thus, in short, dropping
the extra day three times every 400 years.
THE OLD AND NEW STYLES.
The Gregorian style, as it was called,
readily obtained sway in Catholic, but not
in Protestant countries. 1t was not adopt
ed in Britain till the year 1862, by which
time the discrepancy between the Julian
and Gregorian periods amounted to eleven
days. An act of Parliament was passed
debating that. the Sd of September that
year should be reckoned the Nth and that
three of every four of the centurial years
should, as in Pope Gregory's arrangement,
not be bissextile or leap years. 1t has con-
sequently arisen-180O not having been a
leap year-that the new and old styles now
differ by more than 10 days, our LIST of jan
uary being equivalent to the 18th, old style.
In Russia alone, of all Christian countries,
is the old style still retained, wherefore it
is necessary for any one writing in that
country to any foreign correspondent to set
down his date thus: 18th (24th) March, or
25th September 9th October), or, it may
be, 2Sth December, 1877 Goth January,
1879. The old style is still retained in
the accounts Of the British Treasury.
NAMING THE MONTHS.
The arbitrary division of the year into
twelve months manifestly took it's origin in
the natural division determined by the
moons revoi utions. The month of nature,
Or lunar revolutions, is strictly 90 days, 12
hours, A minutes, and seconds; but there
are rather less than eleven days over
twelve such periods in a year. When Ju-
Illus Caesar reformed the calendar his gen.
eral idea was that the months should con-
sist of thirty-oae and thirty days alternate
ly, and this was effected in the bissextile,
or leap year, consisting, as it did, of twelve
times thirty, with six over, In ordinary
years, consisting of one day less, his ar
rangement gave twenty nine days to Feb
'ruary. AfteEward his successor, Augustus,
had the eighth Of the series of months
(AugusD called after himself, and, from
vanity, broke on the regularity of Caesars
arrangement by taking another day from
February to add to his own month, that it
might nv5 DE shorter than July, change
which led to shift of October and Deem
Der 70 September and November as months
Of thirty-one days. In this arrangement
the year has since stood in Christian coun-
tries. The Roman names of the months,
as settled by Augustus, have also been used
by all Christian countries excepting Hol-
land, where the following set of names pre-
Voils:-
January, Lauwmaand, Chilly month.
February, Sprokelmaand, Vegetation
month.
March, Lentmaand, Spring month.
April, Grasmaand, Grass month.
May, Blowmaand, Flower month.
June, Zomermaand. Sunni err month.
July, Hooymaand, Hay month.
August, Oostmaand, Harvest month.
September, Hertmaand, Autumn month.
October, Wynmaand, Wine month.
November, Slagtmaand, Slaughter month.
Decembe., Wintermaand, Winter month.
Amid the heat of the Revolution, the
French Convention, in October, 1898,
kept up in Holland, thus:
Autumn Venderaaire, Vintage, Sep
TENDER %; 2. Brumaire, Foggy, October
%; 8. Frimaire, Frosty or sleety, Novem-
Der 81.
Winter. Nivose Snowy, December
81; s. Pluviose, Rainy, January 90; 6.
Ventose, Windy F, bruary 10.
Spring.. Germinal, Springing OF bud
ding March 81; s. Floreal, Flowery, April
20; 8. Prairial, Hay harvest, May 20.
TO- Messidor, Corn harvest, June 10; II.
Thermidor, Hot, July 10; II. Frutidor,
Fruit, August IS.
Five days at the end, corresponding to
our lIIn, lOGn, IJln, <UJn, ana SlSt CT Sep-
TENDER, were supplementary, and named
sans culottides, in honor of the half naked
populace who ragged during the Revolution
in the streets of Paris. At the same time,
to extinguish all traces of religion in the
calendar, each month was divided into
three decades, or priods of ten days whereof
the last was to be a holiday, the names of
the days being merely expressive of num-
bers-Primidi, Duodi, Tredi, &c.-and
this arrangement was actually maintained
for several Yeas, with this popularity, that
many of the people preferred holding the
Christian Sunday as a weekly holiday, as,
indeed, many of them do still.
Thirty days hath september
April. June, and November;
All the resi- have thirty.One,
But February twenty eight alone,
Except in leap year, one in four,
When Februery has one day more.
WEST VIRGINIA's EXHIBIT. New
Orleans Times Democrat makes the follow
ing mention of West Virginia's exhibit at
the exposition: