Early in civilization the lunar calendar dominated events.  When hunting was the mode of life and the regulator of food gathering the moon’s cycles were imperative for calculating time. Celebrations were also scheduled according to the moon’s cycles.

Five thousand years ago, the Babylonians and the Egyptians realized that a year consisted of more than 365 days but did not include enough lunar months rather it had 11 days less. The Egyptians then divided the year into 12 months, 30 days a month adding five days to the last month of the year.

During the rule of the Pharos, farmers realized that the Nile’s tide coincided with the rising of the Star Sirius, which was nicknamed the Precursor of Flood. The Egyptians intercepted it and noticed it rose from the eastern horizon at the dawn of the first day of the first month of the year. They drew a link between Sirius and solstice and set a calendar that relied on the Nile River which began with the start of the tide. They also set a lunar calendar to register civil events. Finally, they invented the calendar that documented daytime and nighttime still used today.

Considering that the lunar year consists precisely of 365.25 days instead of 365 days (with a difference of an entire day every four years) Julius Caesar reformed in the year 45 BC by adding a day to each fourth year. He followed the system of rotating months between 30 days and 31 days except for February which remained 29 days. When Augustus Caesar took over the reigns of power he was angry that the month that carried his name “August” was only 30 days long not 31. In order to maintain his prestige as an emperor he decided to take one day from February and add it to his month (except in the Leap Year when February remains 29 days long). 

In all cases Julius Caesar’s measures did not take into consideration the precise differences between the calendar and astronomy. Consequently, the difference in 1577 reached 12 days and Church holidays fell on different days than scheduled. In 1582, the Church adopted the Gregorian calendar, after Pope Gregory 13th, who cancelled 10 days from October during that year in order to reconcile between the ancient calendar and astronomy. Four days were added to February taken from dividable years. It was also decided that decade years will be considered Leap years only when the year is dividable by four which means that 1600 was a Leap Year but not 1700, 1800 and 1900. Therefore the difference between the calendar and astronomy did not exceed one day every 3000 years.

However, this calendar met with some opposition, especially by Protestant nations and it was not adopted by Britain until 1752 because the British believed the Pope wanted to take 11 days from their lives and cause their early death. British cities witnessed loud protests against this injustice.

In modern times, historian Will Durant proposed dividing the year into 13 months, 23 days a month. He suggested a holiday without specifying a date (or two holidays in the Leap Year) at the end of the year. As such, the calendar becomes useful to all the months forever because each day of the week falls on the same dates over the months and years. His suggestion was dismissed and Durant commented saying that his idea perhaps upset and puzzled the saints.

Islam adopted the Islamic New Year based on the lunar year (354 days and the approximately the sixth of a day). As such 29.5 days make up a month. The problem was solved by following 29 days and 30 days consecutively. The fractions (eight hours and 48 minutes a year) are then added together into 11 days every 30 years and are added to the 30th year.

In the 7th century, the calendar was divided into BC and AD by Priest Bede. He used the sequence of years between two cycles as follows: Year 1 before Christ and year 1 after Christ. We say that the Third Millennium started in 2000 but in reality it started in 2001 because the start of the calendar marks the birth of Christ as Year One while in reality it is Year Zero. The years are marked after not before his birth.

Just like Augustus Caesar refused that August be numbered 30 days only, Bede refused that the birth of the Savior be marked by the Year Zero.

This is not a unique story representing false ingenuities.  The Irish bishop Usher determined the start of the universe in 4004 before BC precisely on October 10. He reached the calculation of years by summing up the sequence of prophets in the Old Testament in the Bible. It remains absurd how he persuaded himself that the exact date could be located. At the time he could not be blamed but nowadays we know the age of earth is millions of years.

Let to he who has given life but took away reason be praised.

  The Monthly - Mars 2010 - Issue 92