Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1922-12-28
Relic of
Saxon
Days

y, IJ--, NtsItIH NtNsPaptr IIIOu.7

!
THE New Year begins precisely at
- midnight, and almost everyone how
adays sees the New Year in by general
festivities and many good resolutions,
which are promptly forgotten on Jan
uary =.
The festivities marking this occasion,
says Hereward Currington scientist
and author, are very ancient, and in
old Saxon days it was the custom to
pGrtakr Of a bowl Of }+piCed ale, which
was passed around with the expression
"Wasshaei," which, meant ito your
health :" Hence the origin of the Was
sail, or WaSsel bowl
We now keep New Year on January
the first; but the Chinese, Jews, Turks
and many others do not observe it on
this day. Even thristinn countries have
| not always 50 Observed it; the Romans
! began the year with the March
equinox. The later Teutonic nations
for long time continued counting the
beginning ui the year from March 20.
1t was only in 1865, by an edict Of
| Charles IN that France changed the
time of the beginning of the year TO
January |. LII 1900 Scotland made
the same change, and England OILY
did 50 in lIj2, when the GregOrian
system was adopted there Ii will
thus be- seen that the New Year, OBJ
served on January /, is relatively new
though we are accustomed 10 think
that ii dates back from time i'm
memorial.
! II was julius Caesar, in the year
l6 Il. g. who first reformed the calen-
dar--uihcd by the Egyptian astronomer
Susigenes. He made II a few minutes
too long, and second correction was
| necessary. Pope Gregory made GER
tain changes iii l5s2, \. d., and hd.
litiunal minor changes We're made later
on. from the "old style" To the new
style" calendar" We now employ the
new style.
After the French revolution France
decided Is SET up an entirely new or
der Of things. A new calendar was
lhuCt. l Hc 'hllNlliii tlu WIS Niptu
out. and was replaced 10y the new
| French era, BEGINNING September 30,
| 1892 Instead oi our wrtA of seven
| days, We,k of ten days was estah-
| lished-in accordance With the decimal
| System--the tenth day being set aside
| for rest.
| Instead Of the NEUROLOGICAL names
! of the months, others deGucea from
| the prevailing seasons of the year We're
| substituted
| Every thing was to be based upon
reason! The Notre Dame WAS con-
| verted into II "Tcmplc of Reason"
Nine. Momeru, The Young and beautiful
wife of II Jacobin printer, was chosen
to represent Reason And 50 it
went.
| The months We're chosen and given
| French names which We're thought to
be characteristic of them. Thus.
! autumn had Il vintage month, toggy
month and slerty month. Winter,
snowy month, II rainy month and
windy mCnth. Spring, II budding
! month. II iluwery month and pasture
month"; Summer. harvest month,
/ hot month anl Il fruit month.
/ Each month began somewhere be-
tween the 18th and the 22nd-accord.
ing 10 our reckoning. Thus the first
month of the autumn trio began on
September -, and lasted until oc-
tuber 81, etc.
with the restoration Of stable
government In France, this calendar
was repealed. and the usual one sub
stituted. But for II time, as We have
seen, New Year day did not begin on
January 1, In France, so late rs the
last century. and il does not bcglr
on that date in non-Christian cUun
tries even today
.--"-