Evening star., 1923-12-30
World This: Year May Have It's Last
New Year Celebration on Tuesday
CeateNe


lus had got so far ahead OF the
weather that Julius Caesar had TO ada
eighty-fave days TO the year BIC. as
in order to bring the commencement
OF spring back to the vernal equinox.
Sixteen hundred years later they
had to turn the clock back again,
Pope Gregory XIII being accepted az
starter. Then the equinox was ar
riving ten days ahead OF the caien-
dar. SO Gresofy's conference cut out
eleven days from the year 1882, BY
shortening the month OF September
the third or that month being fol-
lowed by the fourteenth. AS I said,
England herself accepted this only
In 1852.
But nobody liked Easter!
The church has always run a lunar
year to determine Easter and the
holidays thereon dependent. An II
regular Easter, as a fact, was all
right in those easy-going times.
There was nothing to trouble the
farmers barley sowing, SO long as
the year itself began on fxed date
and the interval between 1t and the
spring equinox was constant. Romu-
lus had made the year begin on March
L. Caesar changed it to January /.
Charienagne shifted 1t back to
March l. It was all right either way
Between the first day of the year
and the spring equinox the number
of days had always been constant
except, always for the slowly increas-
ing discrepancy of the sun. which
Gregory arranged by cutting out
those eleven days.
But when, In the twelfth century.
the Christian world transferred New
Years day from Charlemagne's
March to Holy Saturday, the lunar
year got Its fine work. Holy Satur-
day. then. as now, might fall any
where between March "a and April
24-and New Years day was no
longer fixed date fer centuries.
y \ =
IN England, where they had come
to f1x their own particular New
Years day on March 60 the con.
fusion was SO much less that the
modern change to January was
not made until 1852. but I'm France,
the Inconvenience had become SO
great that Charles TX, eighteen years
before the Georgian change, deereed
that New Years day should fall on
January l.
But. none attempted to AK wander.
ing Easter!
Nor is 1t likely that Easter will
ever be made a f1xed date, however
great the convenience OF IT would be.
1t represents a movable day by all
the meaning II has always had for
Christians of every kind-that Is to
say, the Jewish passover, which
changed with the lunar month. Nor
is 1t likely that the Jews will change
their passover to a fixed date.
1t is great thing already to regu-
late the civil calendar. The last
time they fixed New Years day they
made April fool!
That's you, dear child. When next
on papa's knee. ask him about that
$3.S42,074.ss. which he IL holding out
on YOU! At compound interest, such
IL the sum, in the average social site
uation, of which YOU were robbed be-
fore your birth and since. 1t repre-.
sents accumulated New Years
Easter gifts. out OF which you have
been f1imfiammed since the Gregorian
change. which shifted New Years
back from Holy Saturday to jan
uary /.
When New Years was a double
header (Easter and New Years COM
bined), the gifts were rich. substan-
tial, worth while. January 1. In the
year of the change. had passed un-
noticed, q mere technical date, to
which nobody was yet habituated.
Then, on Easter day. they learned.
all inexplicable. that yesterday had
not been New Yearsl
New Years was last January"
said the parents.
"Yes." the children answered, "but
our gifts7"
"You had them on Christmas
But the kids knew they were
Christmas gifts.
Holy Saturday, falling between
March "a and April "a. was so far
from Christmas that no confusion was
possible. The New Years-Easter
sweeteners had been inmemorially of
prime Importance. Now, they had
their Easter eggs The valuables had
merged with Christmas!
Now, you know how you were
robbed before you were born. On
March 81. 1855, In France. and later
in other lands, all children. clerks,
dependents. engaged girls and faith
full wives were raising Cain. Heads
of households were In grave distress.
BY April 1, to gain peace. many
parents had begun to compromise
yaIt
But the children of tightwad parents
sent each other pathetic little pack
ages with nothing in them.
These became the origin OF April
fool.
Because they reformed the cal
endar!