The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-02-29
LEAP YEAR.
How The Potentates of the Past Juggled
with the Calendar.

How The Potentates of the Past Juggled
with the Calendar.
word regarding leap year may not be
inappropriate at this time Historians tell us
that the ancient Romans divided their wear
into 70 lunar months of 20 and 30 DAYS
alternately. This gave them 354 days, to
which they added another day to make the
number of days in year uneven, believing
that odd numbers were more fortunate than
even ones.
Ten days were thus lost every year; but
Numa inserted an extra month every two
years containing alternately % and % days
this month was introduced into the calendar
Immediately after February 23rd. In this way
the number of days was increased so as to
make 1865 days in four years. The average
length of the year then being 1861 days To
offset this gain of one day each year over the
true solar time he divided the years into
periods of years each and in every third s.
year-perod he inserted only 3 extra months
of 22 days each. This reduced the average
length of year to 1861 days which was APP
proximately correct. But the interjecting of
the intercalary month was left to the discre-
ton of the rulers and they not unfrequently,
to prolong their reign or to hasten or delay
an election, would add to or subtract from
inc uullDSI VI utgS III LllS GNlTd IlOnbn.
With the advice and assistance of Sosigenes,
Caesar in the year as b, c. abolished the, use
of the lunar method of calculating time and
adopted the solar. He fixed the number of
days in a year at 1856, and every fourth year
added an extra day to February, making the
average 3654 But the true solar year brings
only 365 days hours as minutes and 1852
seconds long he really lost about ten minutes
] IN a nd bNyt bn almost on
days were lost. Roger Bacon and others
appealed to Pope Gregory XIII to readiust
the calendar properly. He ordered the
Catholic countries in 1882 to call October 5th,
October 18th. Beside this he ordered that
the length of the average civil year be re-
duced to the length of the solar year by the
intercalary day from every centurial year
not divisibe by 400 Thus the year 1900 will
not be a leap year while 1000 will be. The
next leap year we will enjoy will be in 1904.
This method of calculation was adopted at
once by Spain, Portugal and Italy, but the
| English speaking people did not adopt it
until the latter half of the last century.
Another interesting fact about the calendar
is the way in which February came to have
only 2S days in common years and 20 in leap
year.
When Julius Caesar adjusted the calendar
he gave 81 days to January, March, May,
July, September and November; 30 days to
each of the other months except February
which had 30 days. When Augustus Caesar
came to the throne he was not pleased that
July, the month named for julius, should be
of longer duration than the month bearing
his name-August. So he took one day from
/ February leaving it 2s, and added it to
August, making it 81. Then, in order that
three months of 81 days each would not come
together, as in July, August and September,
he took one day from September and one
from November and added them to October
and December, giving them 81 respectively
and leaving September and November 80
each Thus his ambition is indelibly stamped
upon the calendar.
Pope Gregory XIII has also left his mark
Originally julius had decided that the oath
of March should mark the Nernal Equinox,
but by the discrepancy in his calendar it was
thrown back to March 18th by the time of
Gregory XIII in 1889. In A. d. 1925 the
church council had convened at Nice and the
Vernal Equinox falling then upon the 2lst of
March they decided that should become the
established day, and they decreed that Easter
should be reckoned from that day, to which
Gregory XIII gave his sanction, and it so
stands to the present day.