Gregorian Solar New Year Greetings!
The new year brings to mind…calendars!
A calendar, in the technical sense, is a formalized means of tracking dates and seasons. In cultures with writing, that meant a written table of dates, attested evidence going back to the Bronze Age. Without a writing system, the calendar might be a monumental stonework, aligned such that the sun rising over a particular boulder might mean time to begin planting. The oldest known such arrangement of stones discovered to date is the Wurdi Yourang stones in Victoria, Australia, believed to be 13,000 years old.
Many cultures used the cycles of the moon to mark months. Because the lunar cycle gives months that are a bit short, these cultures periodically add a “leap month” to ensure the seasons stay aligned. This is why feasts such as Ramadan, Easter, Yom Kippur, and the East Asian Lunar New Year celebrations are on different modern dates, year to year – they’re still reckoned by a Lunar calendar.
Perhaps you’ve wondered why our months are named for an arbitrary collection of Roman gods Janus, Mars, Juno – and numbers 7, 8, 9, 10. What’s going on? Besides “English is weird?” Sometime around the year 45 BCE, Julius Caesar decided to switch to a solar-based calendar of 365 days with an occasional leap year. Subsequently, two summer months were named in honor of Julius and his heir Augustus, July and August.
This calendar remained in effect until 1582, where we slightly rearranged things to better match the sun – basically skipping leap years 3 out of 4 round hundreds, where it’s been ever since.
Except it hasn’t. America stubbornly remained Julian until the 19th century, with Russia not converting until the Soviet era. The Eastern Orthodox rite retains the old calendar dates (mostly) for their feasts, which is why it’s appropriate to wish at least three Laurels a Happy Christmas when you see them at 12th Night.
Which brings us back around to the SCA. My persona mostly lives in a Julian world, but trades with folks using other systems. It’s just part of doing business. What about your persona?
How do they reckon times and seasons? What sources have you found that tell you what they’d be doing this time of year? I was able to get to Yule Feast this past month and I continue to be amazed at the skill and research that go into the arts and sciences we practice. I’m looking forward to upcoming events, most especially Andelcrag’s own Val Day, which always has stunning A&S displays – and this reign Her Majesty’s Queen’s Prize. Here’s hoping the weather holds up!
In service,
Tommaso Franceschi, OL
Minister of Arts & Sciences of the Middle Kingdom