1948-12-18 — Page 31

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THE CHINA "MAIL, “CHRISTMAS SUPPLEMENT; DECEMBER 13, 1945.

YEAR

WHY DOES

DOES THE BEGIN ON JANUARY FIRST?

喆

The legal and his brien1 year astronomer, Sosigenes, he, intro- from Lady Day, March 25, ́to begins on Jantury Ist. The school duced that remarkable invention, January 1. Scotland had already und university year begins at the the leap year. He also decreed done so ti 1800, and most of the end of September or the begiu- that the year 47 D.C. should have Continental states had returned to ning of October. A farmer in three extra months, making 445 the Roman New Year even be the northgin hemisphere will tell days in all, so that the calendrien fore then. you that bl year begins some winter should happen in the real Thus calendar. and tradually time in early March. Each bust-winter. The Itomans called been developed which gives

and the annus confusionis, the year of [year of the right ness has its winess year.

length and ibem do not start on confusion.

(begins everywhere on the same many of Jondor 1st. There seems በነገ With the callapse of the Roman day-the lay the Roman Consuls Teason why the year should not, empire, tremendous confusion set used to be installed. The United for example, start on June 1s1 ein. The centre of elvilisation States have been fortunate In August 19th.

gradually shifted to Byzantium. avoiding the confusion of that proccda: hud independence been The year is the eyele of agri-The adherents of the Egyptian re- cultural operations, and if you along started their your in June.declared only thirty earlier,

years Julian calendar woult Atill saw or reap at the wrong times, The Jews started theirs in the the

have been in use. As in, the will be a failure. your harvest The moon Is the

United States have always uneri phenomenon

Bui our present adequate year. the subdivisions of our calendar are not regülak nor very useful. The months are not equil, and if January 1 was a Wednesday In 1947, it will be Thursday in

most obvious fairly that recurs

frequently and quilte regularly in By J. KALMER

nature; al before they cultivat-

any fruits, most peoples reckoned thely time by moons.

But a hr month is about 29 days, and so a lunar year has only 354 dash, 11% days less than our solar year. The user yene slipped back cumpared with the seasons, until after about 32% years it had come full circle to its origin pusition. This caused Breat trouble, for Red Indian fis Teckoning, and they were foreni sometimus to reprai a math (the first uten double they called alost' or Targotten' inonth) and Fometimes to onilt one,

Same Problem

|

autumn and reckoned their years from 3781 B.C. according to our mathod, to which date they ns- signed the creation of the world. The Hontians began their year in January and veckoneil ab urbe

conditi--from the foundation of Rome, which they assumed have been in 103 B.C.

The graduat establishment of the Christian religion throughout the bruken fragments of the Ro- man empire did not di Arst re- duce the confusion. The most Important function of a calendar for the Christians was to fix the date of Easter. The decision of

1048.

that the

This is due to the fact week, the month and the year do

at together, for their lengths e incommensurable. In the patt this mattered not so much; but it is much more obylaus today that a rimible and ensy enlendar woul be a great advantage in our mo-

which is dern world. enough without sucb dimculties,

complex avoitiuble

Desborough Plan

been Ib

The most popular calendar re- Very few The great valley civilisation of the Cousell of Nienen, setting up form today proposes the Nile, the Euplicates, the lit, the rule Easter is to be celebrated changes speed. It is known as and tie Boangin found them-on a Sunday, established a fixed the Desborough Plan after its in

und has recently helves in The

difficulty,point in the Christian calendar,ventor, Suz

recommended by movable strongly Their agriculture was dependent from which all other on the rising of the Nite in mid-frusts are calculated. But when Australian and New Zealand As June, and they noticed that the the gear was to begin, and how seelution for the Advancement "of Dog Star, which they called they were to be numbered was Science for adoption as a world

entendar

The familler 12 months Sothis, and is elineal rising jurt still unsettled, when the Nile Bol was

There was a further source of are retained, but the number of

thant gear worked days is arranged rù

they that is to say, in mid-dune Sothis trouble. Chesur's rose by the East at the moment out at 365 days exnetly, while follow a uniform and regular pat-

They are grouped year is just over 11 tern.

four in when the sun set in the West. the salar

of Titis became the calendar was slowly slipping for each quarter-that

minute shorter. Once again the quarters, and the first month in January. ther gear. which consisted t

October-has 31 days. Ewelve months of 30 days each, ward compared with the earth's April,

30. bove with five extra days at the end journey round the sun.

There were no leap of the year. year

wus Inter The Egyptian year lopted by the Greeks and, like

.

The mid modification of the calendar, which corructed this, we He Lowe to Pope Gregory XIII.

decread the adoption of

of a system

1

while

uthers all That makes 304 days, 1 is euch to be quarter. The 305th days added at the end of the year as

holiday', Gr perhaps world reckoned as December 31.

The

so much rise, falten over from invented by one Aloysius Lig arrangement of leap years, would i

the

be the same as of

them by the Romuus. The an astronomer and physician months. however, were not the Naples, who diet before be

present, but 52119 Egyptian

another They started his lea universally applied. The leap lays would be on March 1. But the Con-ifference between the true year world holiday half-way through subs, the hemus of the Roman Re- and the calendrleal year had by the year between June and July, public, were publicly Installed in then mounted to 10 days. Popeat clac June 31. The 'world holi- office each year on January 1: as Gregory decreed in March 1502 days are not incluice in any the name of i this was, so to speak, the begin- that October 5 of that year be week or given

reckoned as ning of the official year. they

October 15; this week-day, In this way the ar- made it. In 153 B.C.. the begin brough the enlendar buck to Ita rangement of weeks is the same ning of the civil year us well. We proper place. He also ordained in every year: the first day of

that three leap years JEL

In every have taken over this order of the

cach quarter is a Sunday, andi four hundred years should beach mouth hins 24 working days. one and use the Roman Raines

amilleri, so thul for example Easter would always fall on April for them.

1700, 1800. 1980, were not leap 8. years, while 2000 will be one.

The safekeeping of the calen- lar was, as with must proples tilt then, in the hands of priests, the The Gregorian calendar was not hauts of priests, the so-called adopted everywhere at the same Pontifiers. They were far less time. Great Britain introduced skilled than the Egyptians, and it in an Act of Parliament in 1750. by the time of Caesar the culen- which also provided that the day dur was in such a muddle that after September 2, 1752,

The year 1950 has been selected for the introduction of the world calendar, if it is adopted, as Jon- uay 1, 1950, will in any case be 11 Sunday Calendar quakers, who would no longer need to print should | new dinries every year, might not calendar.

the winter months occurred in be September 14, for by that time approve of the world The autumn.

else a simple, con- the difference had increased to 11 But to everyone Chusor was cerned with the welfare of his tiays. Another reform was also uniform calendar would prove a people and on the advice of an incorporated in the Ael: the be-blessing.

Short Story By

LULLABY ELIZABETH BERRIDGE

She had never been quite sure self-consciously, spinning from curtain was blown across

about it, but he was convinced.

"It's a great kim, a murvellous den," he said, "but of course

o lon't want to come out with me when I'm on leave just say

Ani

the

inder the needle. "What's to be remained a little above it. Fran lone with the baby son. ............” his col the baby watched

A little breathlessly the record lam: grow brighter. He chucki- ed and sung to himself. Then topped, clicked. The next room

his mother's voice came gently was allent.

"There!" he said, friumphant, from the record: "Go to sleep, He darling." He turned over and So she had given in. She al-"that's all right, isn't it?

But ways did. Lite with him was

your voice put his thumb in his mouth. only needs to hear

fuccinated precarious; always had been, ind off he goes," She smiled. the brightness" stil! She had sudden terrible fears of seem a

Foodi kien.

him: he wanted to tell his him leaving her. Suddenly walk- "Come on," he said, "let's go." about fl. lush now, bye-byes. ing from the room, out of the They diri it once or twice afterbediently he closed his eyes. A house, knowing he had gone on that, until he had to return to suddon Intensity of light swept to some other life and needed his station. But he couldn't for- across his eyelids the curtains: He opened his no aue. it's being in the nie so

"You must make one for were blazing. got. me." he wrote.

But somehow mouth to scream with sudden in- much, doing so much dying," she

She hated her explicable fear, but across the thought, it must do something she never did.

lighted room came the trusted to you. Hanging on to a cloud voice spanning off the black dise

voice that was with him all day. and never coming dava-only of she felt as if her whole being war

"You're quite all right, Mamma's course you fell through a cloutenught beneath the sharp needle

When they had the child it was dragged round like a piece of here." He looked about, where

was she? better, for n time. Then the fluff in the shining grooves.

wind Juggling bagun. She could keen When he next came on leave them both splming equably, dexe snid: "Sanders fells me we rughed round the corner and terously, for a time; father and positively must see that film ar son, son and father, but then her the Empire. It's tremendous." ham would become tired, the trick fail This was such a time, so she said yes, and they went to a friend of his who had cash ed in on the pre-war vanity of people who wanted their voices recorded.

said "Only a few left," he Wistfully, he looked over the was discs. "Did I tell you the story

He didn't like it. Tho

swept the fire across to the chest of drawers-cotton, wool, picture- The baby was standing "The Empire?" she said. "It's books. a Jung woy."

In his cat now, gripping the rafi He looked

at her with the and shaking, his eyes wide and pecuilarly blank expression he bluck with fear, almost islanded nasumed when he was determin-by flare and across the room ed to do something in the face came the fulleby we'll

obstacle.

of

"We've got the record," he said, "We'll be home by ten it-we go curly,"

put him away for a rainy day

As they got off the bus she raped his arm. The Journey

of the man who was too nervous. So that evening she put the

set the had passed in silence, but now it propose on the spot" baby earlier. and they

es" he was told.

record off is they went out of sharp needle, caught in the

was as if she lay beneath the "On. He was obviously dis the door. In the. Hall' he stopped appointed. "Well, what are youddenly and caught her in his ning grooves. going to do?"

explained. It was "Why, that's wonderfull" axclaimed. "That's

I

come

arms. You're sure you feel all right about leaving him, darling?" he he asked, "I'm a selfish brute."

Sho laughed. Her four W63 always there, but it must not spoil his evening: and the flea of him being worried somehow strengthened her.

en. let's hear you."

Tiny tried it out that evening and sat listening in the naxt raom. The child was in als cot. but was talking to himself in a queer half-language of his own

sang a little, chuelded and made. astonished noises. the record was starter.

Then

Gig to sleep; darling." came his mother's voice from the black box. There was a pause, then,

"He'll be all right," she said firmly. "Don't worry."

Together they walked down the roud.

"What a wind," she said.

"Hush now, Bye-byes." The Back in the nursery the wind baby stopped murmuring and in a sudden gust shifted aside the settled down. Then the voice blackout curtain they had always sakt: "Everything's all right. meant to fix. The house stood Mamma's hore.The child scem. or, a corner, and took the fuil ed to be asleep, but they let the force of any storm, s recon run to the and I won't-The-nightlight, usually un- disturb him sho whispered, and wavering in, iis, queer, fickared gazed as the yaleo, sand, a little unsteadily a tiny edge of the

spin-

*Did you hum that song we made up for the baby just then?" Her voice was edged: and he fooked at her, 'starftéd.

"No," he said, "I could have won you were singing it."

For a moment they looked al one another. Then

Taxi" he shouted, "Taxi!”

THE

ANSWERS TO CHILDREN'S PUZZLES IN

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