The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1893-01-26
even when they lived so long in the

iand or Egypt; Tor we md tnen3s sd
soon as they We're settled N the prom
ised land, using the lunar month
and the lunar year. The ancient Jews
ish year had only three hundred and
tifty-four days. twelve days were
added oinetiihes at the end Of
the year, and sometimes a month nf
thirty days after the month Adar, in or
der to bring 1t into agreement with the
solar year. But the Jewish calendar
received reform in the fourth century
after the Christian era, and il Is this
improved calendar which Is i,sed by the
Jews of our day for fixing their fes-
tivals and religious ceremonies. 1t is
extremely ingenious, and is based on
the course of the moon. The year il
composed of twelve lunar months
when common, and of thirteen lunar
months when embolismie; and these
years succeed each other In such a way
that after a period Of nineteen years
the commencement of the Jewish year
arrives a the same epoch as the solar.
year. The Jewish year is therefore d
lunar-solar year, and the civil year OF
this remarkable people, In common
with all Oriental nations, commences
with tho new moon of September, and
the ecclesiastical year at the new moon
in March.
The Egyptians, who reached a high
state of civilisatiofi IN the dim twilight
| of remote antiquity, calculated the
year as consisting of three hundred
| and sixty days, or twelve months of
| thirty days. In the pursuit of astrol.
secret of the supposed mystic connec=
| tion between the celestial bodies and
the destiny Of man=-the Egyptians
were aneonsciously laying the ground
work Of the sublime science of astron-
| omy; and in a period of continued OBJ
servation they found that the year of
three hundred and sixty days fell short
of true solar year by Ave days. This
new year canie into force and COM
menced on the 2Gth OF February, TAT B.
e., and this day was the beginning of
the era of Nebonassar. The year of
three hundred and sixty-fve days was
| followed for period OF seven hundred
and twenty-three years; but In the
year 25 b. Q. supplementary day was
| added every four years, and this year
of three hundred and siXtyfve and one
| fourth days became fixed year, and
was adopted by the Romans when they
conquered Egypt. This year was also
| adopted by the Copts, and the first year
of the era of the martyrs commenced
on the goth of August, A. d. 2s4.
The Greeks, the most cultured of tho
nations of antiquity, were rather slow
to turn their powers of observation to
the sky. They employed at hrst-bor.
| rowing from the Egyptians and the
dred and sixty days. divided into
| twelve months of thirty days. Each
month consisted of three decades; and
this is the sole example in ancient his
| tory of week of ten days Meton, of
Athens, in 432 B. c., having observed
| the summer solstice, found that a
period of nineteen solar years con-
! tanned two hundred and thirty-five
| lunations exactly, and that at the end
| CT this period the sun and the moon re-
| turned to the same point in the heav-
ems. This discovery was considered so
important that an account of it was
carved in letters of gold upon the tenn
pie, of Minerva, and hence the origin of
what is generally known as the golden
number. For the purposes of chronol-
| ogy, the Greeks counted the years by
means of olympiads; the first olympiai
occurred 776 B. c., and the last in the
| year 440 of the Christian era
The Roman year, as instituted by
Numa and regulated by the moon, con-
sisted of three hundred and fifty-eight
| days, divided into twelve months of
unequaled length. But this year of
three hundred and fifty five days did
not correspond to the periodic return
| of the seasons, and in the time of Jul.
ius Caesar the Roman calendar had
fallen into great disorder. To correct
this confusion, Caesar sought the as,
| sistance of Sosigenes, a distinguished
astronomer of Alexandria; and it was
decided that the civil year should con-
| sist of three hundred and sixty-five
days, six hours-in other words, that
there should be three consecutive
years of three hundred aud slxty-five
| days, and that the fourth should con-
a.