Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-09
CHANGES l,tSFlif cAEtllDAR.

s E g e
 Some interesting facts relating to changes in the calendar are furnished by William G. Braithwnite, to the Chicago Inter-Ocean. He says that Washington was born, on February II and it would be well to learn why we observe the 22d as the anniversary of his birth. As we are now keeping many church days, Mir Braithwaite is of the opinion that it is a good time to find out some things about our cal endar and how we got the same. There have been many ways Of keeping track of the flight of dme.. so that there have been many plans sug- gested to make the lunar, church, and solar years correspond with each other. The most remarkable as well as the oldest calendar was known as the He brew calendar, divided into twelve months of twenty-nin and thirty days alternately. That the vernal equinox might come during the first month of their year they added one month of twenty-nine days-s seven times every nineteen years, calling them intercal aly months. Each month was divided | into weeks of seven days each in keeping with the custom of observing the seventh day of every week as a Sabbath or holy day. The Greeks divided the same as the l Hebrews, only that to conform to the | solar year they added month of twenty-nine days every two years, so l that with the added month the years | had from 3o4 to 3S5 days. The Ro- mans introduced year of ten months, subsequently, adopting mode similar to that of the Greeks: but so much confusion arose that in the year 46 B. c. Julius Caesar substituted what is known as the Julian calendar, by which the year was ordinarily 363 | days and every fourth is q leap year of 366 days.
 Then length of the solar year being thus assumed as 365A days. which was a little less than the true solar year in 15S2 A. D. the verno1 equinox was again at the last of the year il- stead of during the first month jthc Hebrew year commencing about the middle of March) This shifting of days caused great disorder by unfix- ing the date of the celebration of East CT and other movable feastS of the l church.
 To correct this Pope Gregory XIII. ordained that ten days should be left out of the month of October, so that by calling the day that would have been October ,, 15S2. October 15, the vernal equinox was restored to it's old place at the beginning of the year.
 And that this might not occur again he ordained that every hundredth year that could not be divided by 400 even ly should not be a leap year, so that is why the year 1900 was not q leap year. although the year 2OOO will be.
 By this calculation it will be 3,325 years before We will have gained q day, so that the solar and calendar year may be said to be equal. This order of the pope was obeyed in all Catholic countries by the change being made in the year 15S2 A. D.
 The Protestants were not willing to follow the pope until l1132 A. D., wheu it became necessary to omit eleven days instead of ten. because of the leap year of 170O A. D. So that what would have been September 3, 1752 was called September II, 1732. It was not until 17;5:3 that the change was made in America.
 Russia and the Greek church still count by the old style (so called), so that their year is now thirteen days later than by the new style, as 1900 l ana l9OD were DE mem called leap years. so that two days Cor the twelfth and thirteenth days) have been inter- jected between old and new styles. So that in all documents made between these and other countries are given the two dates, or February 22 would be given as February 9-22. the 9 meaning old style. If a telegram were sent to Russia it would arrive there thirteen days before it was sent, according to the calendar
 Washington was born on February II, 1732 A. D.. old style, or February p. 1732 A. D. new style.
 The abbreviations o. s. and N. s.