just another other day

happy new year!!!


that is how i and a million others worldwide greeted the end of 2016, and the beginning of 2017.

but it is only because we have held on to the notion that january 1 is the beginning of a new year.  we believe it to be so, and thus, we live as if it were really so.  but not everyone celebrates the new year on january 1. 

we (those who celebrate the new year on january 1) do so because we have followed the gregorian calendar, ever since we could tell what day today or tomorrow is; so for us, january 1 marks the new year.

none of us (i haven’t heard of anyone locked up under the gregorian calendar system) have sought to change it — too difficult, almost impossible, and practically needless.  besides, we are reasonable men; and reasonable men seek to adapt to what happens around them; it is the unreasonable men who seek what happens around to adapt to them — so, we leave change to these unreasonable men.

in 45 B.C. unreasonable men, led by julius caesar, changed the start of the new year from march 1 to january 1 — this is also the reason why september (sept- for seven) is not the seventh month; october (oct- for eight) not the eighth month; november (nov- for nine) not the ninth; and december (as we would expect, also because of the prefix ‘dec’ which stands for 10,) not the tenth, but the twelfth month.  the 16th century gregorian system simply revised the counting of days but retained the names of months.

julius caesar is also the reason why july is named july — julius wanted a month named after him.  so he changed the 5th (now 7th) month ‘quintilis’ or ‘quint-ember’ to ‘julius’ (july.)

but the chinese (an old culture) celebrate their new year on an entirely different day and by an entirely different method of reckoning.  they base their method on the cycles of the moon or lunar cycles.  in 2017, as of this posting, the chinese are still on the old year; their new year will come on january 28 according to their lunar calendar.   this marks their spring festival.

the jews (another old culture,) on the other hand, will celebrate their 2017 new year from sundown of september 20 to sundown of september 22 — still a long way off.  they call it the rosh hashanah, or the head of the year.

i am a reasonable man, and therefore stay locked up in the 16th century gregorian reckoning of days — and this is the new year, and the time for new year’s resolutions.

it’s just another other day!