The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-20
REDUCED TEN DAYS.
ONE TIME OCTOBER WAS THE'YEAR's
SHORTEST MONTH.
1t Contained Only Twenty-ons Days In
1884, Heroic Remedy Applied by Pope
Gregory to Defects In the Julian Calen-
dar-It Undid the snaris of Time.

Did you ever hear of the famous short
month of October, which had only 81 daysg
Some three centuries ago in southern Eu-
rope men tried 10 correct an error that had
been growing continually for more than a
thousand years, and the result was that
they called the day after Oct 4, 1851, Oct.
Is insteadof Oct. 5. The roots Of the err
ror run back into the darkness of prehis-
torio times, for at the dawn of history men
are found using three units for measures Of
time; two of these are dependent on the
suns apparent motion, the year and the
day, or group Of seven days; the other Is
dependent on the moon, the lunar month
Now as these threo units have no common
measure, we can see that IL would be inn
possible to fix anniversaries by combining
all OF the units Yet this impossible thing
is what the European world has been try
ing 10 do for nearly 20 centuries.
We get our ideas and principles regard
Ing the calendar from two sources Roman
and Jewish. Every one knows that the
names of the months are Latin, and In the
histories we read how the various Roman
rulers changed the distribution Of days
within the month, etc, to suit their pride
or political schemes, much ms modern poll
brought things into great confusion until
Julius Caesar degseed thdt tho coming year
should consist OF 800 days, and every
fourth year Of $685. The extra day was to
be inserted between the cath and 25tb OF
February. In their way OF numbering the
days of the month. which seems to us so
awkward, the cath was sexto calendas or
the sixth day before the calendas of March
When the extra day was inserted, it was
called the second sixth, or, In Latin, bis
sexto calendas, whence our bissextile.
From Jewish sources we get other fea-
lures The great Jewish festival Of the
Passover was celebrated on the very day OF
the first full moon after the spring equi.
pox. The early Christians, or many of
them, took the same day, but this led TO
charges Of heresy, TO discussion, criticism,
and even contempt; so IL was decreed
probably by Constantine the Great, In 325
a. D., In connection with the council of
Nicga, that the Christian festival Easter
should be observed un the Sunday follow
ing the Passover, and the other movable
feasts OF the church wore made dependent
on this. So the element OF fixed day of
the week was brought into the cnlcua.
tion In addition TO the movements Of the
sun apd moon.
In this ycar-325-the vernal equinox
fell on March 2l, and, IL Cesar's work In
establishing the Julian calendar had only
been correct. this event would have hap.
pened on this date forever But nature
seems TO nbhor simple ratios as she was
said 10 abhor a vacuum. Unfortunately
for simplicity tho year Ia not exactly 36b
days hours, but about | minutes Ia SEQ
onds less So the Insertion Of the extra
day In -four years was OVERRIDING the correc-
tion, as was known even i'm the dark ages.
but after tho revival Of learning and tho
establishment OF obseryatories, IL was
commented on In the council Of Trent,
and was very much discussed by mathe-
maticians. And by tho middle OF tho six
teenth century the hundreds of small err
rors had accumulated to ten days, so the
vernal equinox fell, not on the 2lst, bu.
on the l. lth of March.
This was the condition Of things when,
In 1874 Pope Gregory XIII was elected.
He realized the glory that IL would be TO
his roign II this confusing matter wns set
tied, and So set a company of mathema-
ticians 10 work ont tho problem, not only
of rectlfying tho old errors, but Of proyid.
ing rules G. prevent errors In the future.
The hardest part Of tho work was 20 fix the
movable church fclsts without doing yio-
i-fer- tr- titr tryrriitt0rS. Flint good dent
could be said about the work Is evidenced
by the book of 500 pages written by Cia-
yius, ono Of the company. The result was
that in 1851 papal bull was issued, de
claring among other things that In 1852
tho day following Oct. should be called
Oct. 10, and that centuries should not be
leap years unless dvisible by 900.
Rulers and states that were then Catho-
lic responded TO the pope's request for ac-
ceptance Of the reform. In Frapce tho ten