New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-01-01
THE CALENDAR.
THIS IS AN ARBITRARY DAY.

OF the year by dinner. During the course OF the
dinner reference made the old belief that at the
end Of cycle Of 10000 years everything is begun over
again. and the hope expressed that the end Of
the cycle they would all find themselves at the same
hotel eating the same dinner. The landlord, who pre-
sided. expressed his profound conviction that they
would thus meet again. and proposed the Toast TIL We
Meet Again., This suggested brilliant thought to
the student who had been deputed to pay the BILL
and addressing the landlord. he proposed that The bill
be allowed 10 stand until the next reunion. The
landlord was somewhat taken aback but he was trie
to his convictions and consented. But as the cashier
was joyfuly putting the money back In his pocket \
brilliant thought occurred to the landlord also ana 10
said "sInce We shall be to-day 10000 years hence
we were therefore today 10000 years agof' "With'
out doubt" exclaimed everybody. "Very well, gentle
men,, pursued the landlord. then you asked credit Of
me then rs you have to-day. Pay me for the dinner
YOU had 80 600 years ago and will wait 10000 yeass
for the amount due for this one' II was DONE are
during the OF the evening there was nothing more
said about the supposed cycle.
The special observation Of New Years Day has be.
come 50 universal that many persons instincll,eg think
OF January as In some way necessary beginning Of
calendar time. This, Of course Is not the New
Years Day purely arbitrary, and the year has begun
on many different days in various months. For Q
long period 1t fixed at the Annunciaion, March
o. And the inhabitants OF Pisa followed this practice
until as late as 1745. In another period Christmas
was New Years Day, and In another Easter was 30
regarded In 1893 Charles IX adopted the Julian
calendar and fixed The beginning OF the year January
l. But many continued to follow the older Roman
custom OF beginning the year March 1. As may be
imagined these different lead TO inextricable
confusion in reading the old chronicles As Easter Is
a movable feast, and can occur between April % ana
March d. there are years which record almost TWO
complete months Of April, for Instance, the year
l347 The most truly scientific date for the beginning
A. ar ma
the solstices But. any scientific reformation OF the
calendar is hardly possible the present arrange
ment has so firmly embedded itself In the recent MS
tory OF the world. March l being the Roman New
Years Gay, September October November anu bc0'n
Der were rightly named, being respectively INC
seventh eighth ninth and tenth month IN the year.
July was 50 namcd in honor OF Juus caesar WHO re
formed the calendar, making January the beginning
OF the YEAR Then when Augustus became Emperor
the next month named August to please him. lie
vos not content with that however, but demanded
that II should have as many days In 1t rs there were In
the month OF Julius. Whence comes u" "homa'y
OF two moaths in suc"esson with thrtJ -onc Ga! "
has doubtless puzzled many people lie extra "as
wo, taken from the month OF February which pic-
vo,lsly had twenty nine days. The INST ioa' mo,"s
I'm The Roman year were named after the dVihues
Mars, AphrOdltc Nala ana juno ana ''e i"'' WV "
honor OF Janus and Febrcw.
Most people know that the calendar year Is shorter
than the mean solar year by II fraction OF aoou'
ouarter of day. This error Is corrected pS aiuhs
day to the year every four years, and 'iiat YEAR -
called a leap year-a rather ineXact tcrm S"oe' III
stead OF leaplng over or oihlluhs ua', o'' '
added Du, the correction OF the error also results III
,r ipo.much rs Tie solar year consists OF $50 Gays
, hours A. minutes and ~ Il seconds 1he caIehuaf
year therefore II minutes and 1. IL SECONDS
than the solar, and this causes dlher'hce oe'"ee" ~
tro of three day, in 100 years This error amouhe'
81, Inrp
was reformed by dropping these days. IL pro''uc
r,n.i similar error 10 centennial year i to be- con-
deod lean ycar unl"s, four will q iato lis hrst '"S
figures without any remainder. Thus tie years i'o''
loo and 1900 which are leap years according 10 inc
Julian calendar not leap years accoidhs u 'ue
Grecorian calendar But even this does not oo'"''
s,l error At the end Of 10000 years there VIII lie
correction OF two days and ten hours 10 manu. ou'
that need not give any seiou' concern ''N"E'
Another interesting fact Is that the length OF the
solar year is by no fixed. IL varies by thirty
elcht seconds above and iiy-'ght seconds ueio" ''
average |, has been slowly Shortening since the be-
ginning OF the Christian era man VINO hhs h'eN
a hundred years to-day has actually iiNed twenty NM
utc, less than centcnarlan Of the time OF Augustus
and an hour less than ccntenarian OF the time OF 'e
chinese Emperor IioanG-Ti. The year VI shor~"
Icu.rb will be A. d. 900, which will be seventy SIX
second, shorter than the year Joi? H. I.
OF cour,e an article about the beginning OF the year
could not be written Tifilnut some fcierchce 10 ''a'
venerable and ircsomc controversy As to I'll" proper De-
dining and end Of n century. IN other "o a. VIII 'n'
vcar 1900 belong 10 the nntcenth century or TO the
twent.th, 4 little thought Will give cleir ais"er
IN tina, uuo,ton The first year of the Christian era
IL known IN history rs the year and not a. the year
n Therefore the first century began with the year
ard ended with the year 100. The second century
hogan with The year lOl and ended with The year w.
The nineteenth century began with the year lool anu
will end On December 81, 1900. ANA therefore Tue
twentieth century will begin January l. 1901 his
l. said by somebody the beginning oil every year,
but there seems always to be just as urgent need Oh
,ovirr :, .pea,Silc OF the Christian era l. may %
weu 10 saw that 1t In use for long time aicr
the birth OF Christ IL was suggested IN uie siA"
century by a monk named Dcnys surnamed the Ll'tic'
who Iv,d in Rome aud who, 1t may be Observed
World 20 by the name OF Dennis Little II ne "cre
living TO dav. His suggestion was not adopted unui
the year 500 and then by order OF Charieias"e "'er
his coronation But In the calculations Of Dehy'
Tented m this time there was error Of four years.
rhich l. n,rIr,uat,d in present date, the year
50. being properly the year 1ooo. IL Is hi"'icSey
,mros,lbe TO correct the error now, ana uesiueS "
moi Il matter OF any real Importance "heh our e'
b.etns the main thing being that every one shouu
ocr ON one date for 1t. Besides the civil Year ana
Tho solar wear there the lunar year ana ue e'
cleslastlcal year. Tie lunar Year consists Cd '"eN'
,,por u;onhs or 2j4 days, and is In use among ,he
Jews and Mahomeans. The ecclesinstlcas eaie""'
T., luni.solar being regulated partly by me so'' u
partly ly the lunar year. The Hebrew 'aienu'' =
dated from the creation, which Is consld'reu W nav
,lan Mace 7,O years and = months before the ems,
linn era; lhe Jewish year is lun solar ana Sos ~
,,ntv nine or thirty days. The first year l. 'an''
ordinary and consists OF }54 days The other year -
cnII,d ,.mb ,mic and contains 81! days III po'
| g. Son,ciiu,,s made a day more and sometimes day
loss in orier fnat certain festivals may la on p'oP
DAYS OF the week. The Mahomean era Is aaH tv
,n ,~ht u.cru) OF Mahomet from Mecca 10 M'tiina'
Witch ,,os in the night Of Thursday July 10, ~ ~
3d.. A.. ao,,rdor Jonuarv
WINS observed as holiday by the RonnhS ,, o,,a
tells how people generally rerined iro, rlISons
and strife n thai time and there were speci" Ienep
Tmcfions in the temples. Later wlller, snH nav nav
among the special ob-cr,ances OF Ncm .e, ~
wrr, rxcnaiigs al visits. the giving ana % ,bs