The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-12-31
SEVEN new YEAR EVENTS
THEY CAN BE FOUND IN
PARTS OF WORLD
Succession of Celebrations In
Number of Different
Countries

Washington. d. c.. December 2s.-"The
American is apt to regard his New Year
as the New Year. Had he a penchant
for celebrating holidays he could travel
In more or less leisurely way around
the world. and in the course Of the year
could participate in six or seven New
Year festivities. adding q couple OF
Christmas celebrations for good meas
nre." according to q bulletin from the
Washington, d. G., headquarters OF the
National Geographic society. r..
Our American might start his pro-
gressive holiday Jaunt by going to some
western European country, for the ap;
States too will celebrate. He could then
travel to Greece, Jugo-Slavia, Rumania
or Bulgaria In time for Christmas In
those countries. Christmas Is also De-
cem6er rs in the countries named, &C
cording to their calendars, but cores
ponds to January Z in America
Five Day New Year Period in China
country he coud ais, %ss spend Nee New Yesf
Day called January Z, but correspond
ing with the American and western Eu.
ropean January IA. BY pushing on and
able to reach Singapore. or by supple,
menting steamers with airplanes could
reach China itself to take part In the
p most % fSs SnF New ssT
Year which will be- observed In 1921 for
the five days from about February
to ID,
ton the traveller could pursue his holi-
day hunting less strenuously for while
He could arrange to arrive in Siam IN
April. 1. and afterward could have 1--WE
months OF sightseeing before reaching
Arabia for the Mohammeden New Year
A. September I; He could then eross
into Abyssinia to take part in the New
Year festivities OF that country on Sept
omber 10. Returning to the Red Sea
and d., taking a steamer north ns ne he; could sld
the Hebrew New Year. October 3.
The holiday hunter would now have
taken part in all the principal New Year
turn to the western hcmisphers to
spend the Christmas with which he..is
most familiar at his own hearth side
In six SsEs less than he would .nS
two Christmas celebrations to his credit.
Worlds Calendars In a TansIe
The worlds multiplicity OF New
Year Days and Christmastides 10 due to
the fact that our calendar is largely an
around the sun in Ss52422 days. which
makes the true year a very odd measure
choose logical beginning for the year
as it is to find the starting point of g
circle. Different peoples have selected
different starting points and have also
en h this S has OF no only
suited in the years beginning at diner
ent times but has caused the times
of beginning to vary in their relation.
as though a clock had half a dozen or
more hands all moving around the dial
from different starting points. at differ
THE most logical starting points for
the year would seem to be summer and
winter solstices and tho spring and
autumnal eauinoxes: and all OF them
OF the years in some parts OF the world.
The Gregorian calendar, that is now In
use in the United states and throughout
Julian calendar slightly modlned. When
julius Caesar caused It to be constructed
the beginning Of the year. January /.
was placed seven days after the winter !.
as logic would seem to dictate. The
Julian year was made, by means Of the
leap year device. Ss5.25 days long,
Of ii minutes and Il seconds. This e1-
cess caused the nominal January to
creep gradually farther and farther r.
yond the wnts S, sSsf H,,r SO that ~ tho
1926 1t was eleven days beyond the SOL
sttce instead Of seven.
New Year Day Moving Toward Summer
rection in 1882. January was twenty
one days beyond the solstice and Christ
mas fourteen days beyond. II the cal
endar had remained uncorrected. New
Year Day would have gone on creeping
forward FIRST into spring. then into
when the correction was made the
calendar was turned back not to its
original position in the time Of Julius
tSs GounG TO Of Nes D sss ' 81
which became Christmas, then fell four
days after the winter solstice instead OF
coinciding with It as Julius Caeser In
tended; while New Year Day was eleven
days beyond the solstioe instead Of
The calendar is now kept practically at
its Gregorian resting place by the ex-
pedient Of failing to add the extra lean
year day three times In the course OF
400 ysars-ooan the century years not d.
SO slight that It would amount to little
more than q day In 100, 900 years.
Greeks Stick TO Faulty Calendar
I'm the meantime. the countries In
which the Greek Church is dominant
corrections and continue to use the old
stvie or Julian calendar. The difference.
which was ten days in 1882. has now in
creased to thirteen days.
Soviet Russia has OFFICIALLY adopted
the o-esorI.n calendar for civil purposes
territory Of TIE former Russian Empire.
Tho Gregorian or New Style calendar
also Ia coming into more general use In
OF western countris.: As a result Of the
Great War. directly or indirectly. the
world ie now closer than at any time in
its history 10 having a single. sstrono-