Monday, August 14, 2006
Plotting an End to the Last Year of Confusion
Those with enough knowledge of Latin to be dangerous know that several of our months after the hot summer are numbered in order 7th to 10th--September to December. But those months are, on our calendars, actually the 9th to the 12th months. WTF? Here is the explanation. On this day in 46 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar, who learned about accurate calendar making in Egypt (when he wasn't shtupping Cleopatra) reformed the calendar by adding 4 months to make up for lost time from the former, inaccurate calendar system. The year 45 BC would be 445 days long and the new year would start then and thereafter on January 1, rather than on the traditional March 1.
So if March was the first month of the Roman year, then, assuming all the other months stayed the same, September was indeed the 7th month, etc. Aha!
The Julian Calendar lasted in Europe until 1582 when the next reform came, as explained here. We Americans, still British subjects, didn't adopt the new calendar until 1752, when England finally did.
So if March was the first month of the Roman year, then, assuming all the other months stayed the same, September was indeed the 7th month, etc. Aha!
The Julian Calendar lasted in Europe until 1582 when the next reform came, as explained here. We Americans, still British subjects, didn't adopt the new calendar until 1752, when England finally did.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:46 AM 
