Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1904-12-29
THE CALENDAR.


the birth of Jesus Christ
The civil calendar Of all European
nations was taken from that of the Ro-
mans. who in turn borrowed part OF 1t
from the Greeks, and like them began
by dividing the year into ten months
and beginning their year In March; but
t1is led to confusion, and during the
rsign of Numa, 425 b. c.. two months,
January and February were added to
their calendar and the year made to be-
gin about where it does now
The months, however, and the lengths
Of the wears were left to be regulated
by the phases Of the Moon, which caus-
ed the practice Of adding some days to
each year by order OF the priests or pom
tiffs. and this led to more confusion,
which was ended by Caesar when ne
came into power by abolishinR the lunar
year, with intercalary days. and estao-
fishing one regulated entirely by the
Sun. He fixed the length of the year at
365 DAYS, with every fourth year 1866.
and what is called the first Julian year
began with Jan. 1st. 46 B. G. or the
7o8th from the foundation of Rome.
OF course Caesar had the help OF the
astronomers and the other wise men OF
his day, and it Is wonderful that they
rot it as close as they did, believing as
they did that the Earth was a level or
plain. and only knowing that the pro-
cession of the Sum, Moon and planets
rose in the East and set in the West;
but they were close observers OF the
motions Of these, and came very near to
beginning their year at the time OF the
Suns lowest altitude.
Further north in Germany, Sweden
and other countries the natives had
their Festal season on or about the 10Th
Of December, when the Sun stopped
sinking and began rising, and when
these peoples became converted to
Christianity in the 9TH and 9th Centu-
ries A. d. they adopted that date for
the celebration of Christ's natal day, as
the exact date Of that event was not and
IL not known.
The Julian Calendar was not perfect
Or true to the Sun, and it was changed
1t the Council Of Nice In 325 A. d. and
again In 1852 when Pope Gregory drop
ped ten days from the Calendar as it
then stood, and adopted the rules which
stand today.
According to our astronomers the
Earth passes completely around the
Sun In 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes
and 46 seconds. That is the solar year;
the civil year Is what the adopted Cal
endar makes It,
Dividing the year into twelve months
originated in the fact that the Moon
completed Its four phases twelve times
year; but the Moon completes a revo-
luton around the Earth in about 29i
days. and twelve luDations means 554
days. leaving III odd days.
The names we use for the months are
almost identical with those used by the
Romans.
A week Of seven days Is an arbitrary
period, probably Of Biblical origin,
though 1t might have been suggested
BY the phases Of the Moon. 1t was not
In the Greek calendar and came late
Into the Roman, but had been used in
eastern countries from time immemori-
d. The English names of the days
come from the Saxons, who borrowed
the week from some eastern nation or
people and substituted the names of
some OF their own divinities, and had
Suns day, Moons day. Tew's day,
Woden's day. Thor's day, Friga's day
and 6aterne's day.
A solar day Ii the interval of time be-
tween two consecutive returns of the
centre Of the Sun over the same merid
Inn, but on account Of the inclination of
the Earth to the plane Of its orbit, and
IT. unequal progressive motion around
the Sun, these times are not always
true to the moment, and onr Observable
ries and therefrom our clocks are regu-
lated to time called ''mean time, and
which IL the result of computation.
In civil life we divide the day into
tHo periods Of twelve hours each, be-
ginning ct midnight; but the astrono-
mers find 1t more convenient to begin
the day at noon, and number the hours
from / to "a; and when they have some
thing important on hands they fix their
time from the transit of the fixed star
sgreed upon over wire; and this they
call, Eiderial time.
Time Is prime factor in the naviga-
tion Of the seas, as well as In civil life
After the human race had discovered
that the World was round, revolved on
IT. axis and around the Sun. and was
inclined to the plane of its orbit, etc.
the navigators found that they had no
trouble by an altitude Of the Sun at
noon. and their table of declinati ,ns, in
fnding their latitude, that is their dis
tance north or south Of the equator; but
they could not discover a method of
finding the correct longitude, and for
over century the governments of Eu-
rope offered. rewards for q solution of
the problem. The English govern
ment's reward OF $10O, 900 for method
thst would come within 30 miles Of 1t
stood for fifty years, before man nam
ed John Harrison, who made an almost
perfect watch. set 1t to the time OF the
zero meridian OF their charts, (the
Greenwich observatory and took it to
sea with him on trial trips, lifted it.
1t II easy Gf you have the proper in
struments and books TO find the correct
local time at sea. and the difference be-
tween that time and the time at the zero
meridian of your chart reduced to de-
grees. Ia your longitude. Nowadays
every large vessel carries several per-
feet watches or chronometers, each
with its record of gain or loss, and the
longitude at sea 10 determined within
the fraction OF mile. excepting during
heavy or cloudy weather: but Of course
this has nothing to do with the calen-
dar, which IL matter Of record.
Court House Changes.
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