Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1903-12-31

AT this time we celebrate the birth
OF the New Year and erect another
milestone on the road or Time. How
few think that l52 years ago the year
ut this season was old How came the
change? Not by the revolution OF the
earth, for that Is practically un'
changeable, bui through the intcrVen'
ton Of human enactment Though
time, as measured by the motions OF
the earth, may be taken as constant.
yet Ste divisions into seconds. minutes.
hours, days, weeks. months. years.
sras, their beginnings and endinss. are
arbitrary products OF the human inlnd.
and therefore vsrtsble.
= An sstions and people have q par
4; ticaiaY epoch from which they date
I, the era IN which they may have lived.
The Rcmans dated their Chronological
events from the founding OF the city.
The oppression. THE year of Rome"
or the letters A. IL. C. tab uros con-
dttal refers 10 that particular epoch.
The MohammedsDs express their se-
auenee OF time by 1.-THE year OF the
, prophet" The Date is from the Hejira,
OF the tight OF Mohammed from
Mecca IIfet.ra is pronounced He3-ira-
and ~ an Arabic word meaning flight.
which occurred A. I'D. 622. The Jews
reckon their dispensation from the
Y lhation OF the world. but In reality
their chronology begins with the
Esoaas. Moses Intentionally intro
, duoed q new calendar. and makes
Abb their nrst month. II has been
supposed that the Jewish Sabbath Is
. the same as the seventh day on which
God ended His work. hut "a Moses
changed the first month To Abb. he
changed the first day also, The FIRST
day of this new year was the first
day Of the first month and the hrst
day of the frst week. The sabbath
bong held on the seventh day, 1t must
OF necessity have been changed also.
But being changed, II could not be In
correspondence with the seventh day
Of creation on which God rested =
Christians date their epoch from the
birth OF Christ, the expression FOR
which IL the Latin words Ammo Dom.
ini, or a D., the initial letters OF the
words. Five centuries elapsed before
an attempt was made to authoritative
lv * the date OF the Nativity. This
was then undertaken by D!onysius
E1iguus tlittle) who fixed our present
chronology 1T Is now generally al
lowed that he was four years out In
his reckoning, and that II. G.. Is the
correct year. This corresponds with
the statement by lreneus and Tertui'
liam that Christ Was born about the
year Of Rome I'll
Different nations have begun their
count OF time Al different parts az the
Ia enty-fonr hours. The ancient Ac-
Jsdians, Babylontans, Syrians. Per
siaps. the modern Greeks and the In.
babitants Of the Balearic isles reckon
their day from sunrise TO sunrise. Why
the ancient nations began the day at
sunrise is evident from their early re-
iigion. which was Magism. Fire was
n chief object of reverence with them,
and the Gun as the grand symbol OF
their worship received especial 'enera-
, ton. Hence they began their day as
they began their devotions-with the
Using sun.
Others, like the Athenians, the Chi
.nase and the Jews have counted the
day from sunset TO sunset Why the
Jews begin the day from sunset Is
potent from their religion. The char
scteristicsl OF the Jewish religion are
IN sharp contrast to those OF other
oafions. The aim OF Moses was To
vean them from the grossness OF
oriental religions Hence the contrasts
and .antitheses. IL the worshirers OF
the elements begin the day With sun
rise. then the followers OF Jehovah
win begin theirs with sunset Moses
van hsze NO concord with error.
The Egyptians and pagan Romas
priests began their day At midnight
Most Ensopean nations follow the
.ame rule. Americans have also adopt
..sd the custom. Astronomers. however.
begin the DAY st noon, whes the sun
De on the meridian.
srbe day meaning thereby light.
sunrise TO sunset, was In sRcient
n, divided into twelve eausa parts.
hours a similar division FAs