El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-01-01

has fallen IN the DloSsOh LlOIi'iiS
spring, in torrid summer, in the Vlnt
age season and amid the SHOWS ant
cold of winter. For most of the people
of America and Europe, it falls upoI
the first of January, or of the seconc
winter month. As logical as this seems
to determine the beginning of new
year at the point marking the COM
mencement of another solar year. New
Years day of the Christian calendar
fails to correspond with the initial
dates of many other calendar systems
even among those of modern times.
The Christian era has been in oper-
alton little over 1910 years me
epoch of the birth Of Christ was intro
/ duced into italy in the middle OF the
! sixth century. by DtOnyslus the Little,
a Roman abbot, and II gained steadily
1 in popularity until IN the 10th century
| its use became general among western
! Christians It began to be followed
| in GauI in the eighth century Before
/ the close of that century II had come
into use in England In the ninth cen
fury, it began to be used IN Spain IN
! conjunction with an older era, the era
| of the conquest OF that country by the
/ Roman emperor, Augustus. Today, as
! a result of the hardihOOd and agrees
! siveness of its followers, the Christian
calendar has been firmly impressed on
l the civilized world. 1t is rapidly be-
! coming the civil and legal calendar OF
/ all the people Of the world.
Christian Calendar is Modern.
/ In its present form, the Christian
! calendar is product of modern times.
| Tt dates from 1882, when pope Gregory
! XIII corrected the error OF the calen-
dar, which had been established with
! the reform of the Roman calendar
/ by Julius Caesar. The Julian year
! exceeded the solar year By II minutes
/ and 1895 seconds. BY the time OF
/ pope Gregory, the Julian calendar had
/ gained 10 days upon the sun since
40 B. c. The Gregorian reform es-
/ tablished a year of 365 days, 8 hours,
80 minutes and u seconds in place Of
I the Julian year of 365 IA days. The
solar year is $50 days, hours, IS
minutes and 1905 seconds. Thus the
/ calendar still gains 25 seconds a year
upon the sun.
The Christian era has supplanted
among the civilizations of the west
multiplicity of systems for computing
time In ages when the bonds be- /
tween peoples were loose, and each lit /
tie community formed a whole within /
itself, each was possessed of its own (
calendar. And the confusion of time !
among the communities was extreme. /
This was true among the western civ I
ilizatiOns during the first eight CEN |
turtles of the Christian era.
Formerly Were Three Systems.
During the time of conflict between /
the Christian and the pagan worlds, /
there were three main systems OF
time reckoning. They were the Baby
lonian, the Greek and the Roman.
The youngest Of these eras was the
Babylonian, or the era of Nabonassar.
1t was, however, the oldest in point OF
use, having been employed from the
with the reign of NabOnassar, founder
of the kingdom of BabyIOnians, at a
time corresponding with the year z4f
B. c. of the Christian calendar This
N~~~ q
general use by the ancient astrOnO-
mers H1pparchus and PtOlemy. It was
also the basis of the renowned canon
OF kings, preserved in the works of
Ptolemy, which was the sole anthem
TIC source OF Assyr1an and BabylOntan
history until the recent Unearthing OF
buried library on the site of Nine
The year employed by the Babylon
lans was the wandering year of the
ancient Egyptians. It counted 365
days and fell behind the sun one day I
IN every four years. That meant that
the Egyptian and Babyloniau calendar (
lost one year in every 1860 years. Ac-
cOrclng to the pricise record made by
Ptolemy Of the celestial phenomena of
epoch day, the BabylOnian New Years
day fell on February 26- In terms OF
solar time, however, BabylOnian New
Years day was impartial, for it wan
dered through each of the days Of the
year once IN every cycle of 1860 years. ,
Greeks RecSOned by Contests.
The Greek calendar was a witness
to their nature that, up to the time !
Of Socrates had produced the sunnieSt
art the world has ever known. They
'eckoned their years according to their s
olympic games, religious festivals OF :
athletic and artistic contests One !
story hes it that these games were Z
ssta bllshed by the Idaean HeTacles to
commemorate his triumph over his 4
our brothers in a foot race. .
OlVmulaQS were cplebra ted every
our years on the plain of Olympia in I
Ills. The festival lasted five days.
[ was observed between the new ana
ne 1ulI moon first following the sum-
ner solstice. When the first OIym-
lad was observed is a matter for con-
ecture. but the epoch Olympiad from
7hich the later Greeks reckOned the |
light of time was that in which COrOe- |
us was victor in the games. and it cor !
spending with the year 776 B. c. OF
ur era.
The Olympic New Year was Eencr-
.ly regarded as falling on July /. The
reel1s employed a year of u lunar
!onths of 80 and % days, alternately. as
his gave them a year of 354 days. m
hich was II Ia days shorter than In
le solar year. To compensate this
fference, they devised a method. ar PI
trary and complicated. They added W,
q intercalary month of so OF % days no
-ery alternate year. This made their a.,
ears average seven days in advance an
renee, the intercalary month was wi
nitted once in eight years. Contin- f.
lg this calendar of the ancient ~
-eeks, it would be today mildly ear of IN
e first year of the 672d Olympiad .Tu
Romans Date From Founding. IN,
The third calendar the Roman, was
rived from the founding of the eter- we
i city, and various dates were set pa
different Roman writer's for this ve
ent, as the beginning of their era :
9rentius VarrO gives the date which me
generally accepted, and which cor off
spends to 753 B. c. in the Christian I if
lendsr. The Romans of the republic -
so employed a consular year, ac- Sl'
riding to which they recorded their as
story no
The consular year commenced from
e day of the installation of consuls, "
d held no fixed place in the solar
ar before the seventh century OF WO
)me. The civil year, according to ro,
itch the Romans transacted their '.5
bile and private business. COM OF
enced with the calends of January. Ike,
ter the reforms of the Decemvirs, Sa-
e years of the era of Rome COM
need with the 21st of April. sea
The civil year, abolished by julius mes
esar's reform of the calendar, was DIES