HISTORY OF CALENDAR
Have you ever noticed the connection between time and space? We all know that living
near our place of work is saving time; we also know that between the third of the
month and the first of the next month, it remains a lot of space on the calendar
before having to pay the next rent…
Human being (individually or socially) has always been trying to fulfill his needs: eat, sleep, enjoy, procreate and search for security.In order to achieve this, he needs to predict and take control of time. There is nothing new about human being needs and behaviors!
The calendar is the clock of a year; its history is a deadline bill book and a try to arrive on time for dinner.
The sun is the most predictable actor of the calendar history,the conscience of the daily routine (wake up, wash the dishes and go to work). It represents the security (I’m still here!) and the joy of humans and vegetables.
Paradoxically,the sun became famous because of it’s… shadow!
-Will you come back for the dinner or for the supper, darling?
-I’ll come back when the shadow is beside the shack, honey! Don’t forget to dry my boxer under the sun,I need it tomorrow!
Mister Long Time Ago has learned to read in the shadow’s angles: he sets up his “gnomon” (one of his ski poles) and tack on the shadow. The study of the shadow has even determined the size (space) of objects projecting it!
In addition to his sky observations,he can now predict the seasons, and that helps, because the lunch is in short supply when winter arrives.
Now you know why it always has been considered to be the worst thing that could happen to a human being when he lost his shadow: he is out of space and time is over now…
Unlike the sun, the moon change over time: it’s there and like this, few weeks later, it’s somewhere else and like that. But always in the same order… good news! The moon has a short cycle, easy to follow,so we’ll be there for your party at the full moon; you won’t wait for us everyday.
Sun and Moon, principle actors, married each other and the calendar born a few months later…
Calendarium (latin) “Kalends” correspond to the first days of each month, which is the new moon, of the Roman Calendar, based on the moon cycle. They even named an account book “calendaria” : debtors had to pay off their debts the first of the month!
The Julian Calendar came after and it has been an abortive attempt to define the year’s cycle. From that time, The Gregorian calendar is in used, still based upon the sun’s motion,i.e. the earth around the sun.
Here is the real history of the calendar : rent, taxes and debts!
