Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-01-03
TIME.

THE following extract from an article
writ ten for the CITIZEN, three years ago 49,
We think, worth rspesting.)
The Christian Era is dated from the lst
of January Of the year in which Christ was
born; and January was made the hrst
month of the Roman calendar, probably
because it was the first month o. their
Sprins time. In northern Italy, tor many
centuries after the fall Of the Roman En-
p,re. the year was made to begin on March
IS tn, the day of the Annuncistion, and IN
France as late as the middle of the 10Th
century the year began with Easter. In
England for several centuries the year
began with Christmas, and in parts OF Scot
land the FIRST of January is yet celebrated
g Christmas.
Ia the scandinavian peninsula the re-
turn of the Sun was celebrated by the
great yule least. and when missionaries Of
the Christian religion penetrated those
regions they engrsited the Christian Christ
mas on that feast,
In England in the 18th century the prac-
tice was TO begin the year on the 25th OF
March, and that practice prevailed till
Parliament in 175l directed that the year
1852 should be reckoned from the LIST OF
January, and the same day is now the be-
ginning of the year in all Christian coun-
tries, excepting Russia.
When the Romans of the time julius
Caesar remodeled their calendar, they
knew nothing of the spherical form OF the
Earth, or of its revolution around the san.
and yet by some means they measured
year to within few minutes of its correct
time, and established year of 365 days
every fourth year to have 366, and give
the months the same number of days they
still have.
The Roman calendar was 80 perfect that
it was adopted by the Christian nations,
but ia 1882 A. d the slight error OF ii
minutes and 10 seconds year. had a.
mounted tn about ton complete days, and
Pope Gregory XIII ordained that ten days
should be deducted from October OF that
year, and that every hundredth year should
not be . leap year, excepting every 4OOth,
beginning with the year 1000 A. D., and IN
this way the difference between the natural
and civil years will not amount to day
in 5000 years.
This change was objected to by some of
the Protestant nations, but was finally
adopted by al the nations Of Europe, sx-
oepting the Russian, which yet sdheres
to the old style, and as the error now
amounts to twelve days, their calendar is
that many days wrong.
A meridian of this Earth will return un.
der fixed star in few minutes less than
twenty four of our honrs, but as the Earth.
besides turning on its axis, is also rolling
around the Sun and in the same direction
1t has to turn those few minutes longer to
again bring that meridian under the
centre of the Sun, and thus it is that in q
year of 365 days the Earth actually turns
on it's axis 366 times.
The orbit of the Earth, also, is not a
circle, but an sllipse and therefore there
Is slight difEsrencein the intervals be-
tween the return Of q meridian under the
centre Of the Sun, and this time we use in
our clocks and watches is tn 9 average OF
these intervals, called mean time to dis
tinguisn it from SUI. sideresl and other
times, and that interval We divide into q
day of twenty -four hours.