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NEW YEAR'S DAY 1/1/10 7:24 PM
Did you know that New Year's Day was not always celebrated on the first of January? (And in those cultures that use a lunar calendar, it still isn't).
When Julius Caesar developed the Julian calendar in 46 B.C., a year officially became 365 days long. The calendar included leap years and, after some trial and error, set the first of the year at January 1. In the Middle Ages, Christians changed the first day of the year to December 25, and then to March 25. Confusing, don't you think?
In the 16th Century, Aloysius Lilius, an Italian doctor and astronomer, devised a more comprehensive calendar. The purpose of the revision was to put Easter back in the right season and to correct some of the errors in the Julian Calendar. Six years after Lilius died, his brother presented the proposal to Pope Gregory XIII, who authorized the new calendar on February 24, 1582, and New Year's Day returned to January 1.
England (and its colonies in America) adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, by which time it was necessary to correct it by 11 days, so Wednesday, September 2, 1752, was followed by Thursday September 14, 1752. We still use the Gregorian calendar today.
Many of our New Year's celebrations originated with the Dutch in New Amsterdam (now New York) in the 1750, although we have acquired plenty of new ones over the years, including the Polar Bear Club, where members take a dip in a frigid body of water on New Year's Day. Good Luck to them!
HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL!!
( found this info in my newspaper on New Year's Day)
When Julius Caesar developed the Julian calendar in 46 B.C., a year officially became 365 days long. The calendar included leap years and, after some trial and error, set the first of the year at January 1. In the Middle Ages, Christians changed the first day of the year to December 25, and then to March 25. Confusing, don't you think?
In the 16th Century, Aloysius Lilius, an Italian doctor and astronomer, devised a more comprehensive calendar. The purpose of the revision was to put Easter back in the right season and to correct some of the errors in the Julian Calendar. Six years after Lilius died, his brother presented the proposal to Pope Gregory XIII, who authorized the new calendar on February 24, 1582, and New Year's Day returned to January 1.
England (and its colonies in America) adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, by which time it was necessary to correct it by 11 days, so Wednesday, September 2, 1752, was followed by Thursday September 14, 1752. We still use the Gregorian calendar today.
Many of our New Year's celebrations originated with the Dutch in New Amsterdam (now New York) in the 1750, although we have acquired plenty of new ones over the years, including the Polar Bear Club, where members take a dip in a frigid body of water on New Year's Day. Good Luck to them!
HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL!!
( found this info in my newspaper on New Year's Day)
Very interesting. I always find yours and Joy's blogs to be of great interest. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year! Love Lynda
Great information Mom.
Always enjoy your blogs they are very rich and educational and this was well worth the time. Hope you had a nice xmas or was that New years then? lol Happy New Year and may all your dreams come true/ ^♥^
Very interesting. Thank you for bring it to my attention. I love stuff like this. Carol