Mesoamerica movements of celestial bodies and memorialize public officials. The 260-day cycle was also used for divination, and (like the Catholic calendar of saints) to name newborns. The names given to the days, months, and years in the Mesoamerican calendar came, for the most part, from animals, flowers, heavenly bodies, and cultural concepts that held symbolic significance in Mesoamerican culture. This calendar was used throughout the history of Mesoamerican by nearly every culture. Even today, several Maya groups in Guatemala, including the [[K'iche' people|K'iche']], [[Q'eqchi' people|Q'eqchi']], [[Kaqchikel people|Kaqchikel]], and the [[Mixe]] people of Oaxaca continue using modernized forms of the Mesoamerican
Adoption of the Gregorian calendar when a 13th Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on 6 April. The European colonies of the Americas adopted the change when their mother countries did. In 1752, the British colonies (which as stated above adopted the New Style calendar in that year) extended as far west as the Appalachian Mountains. New France and New Spain had adopted the new calendar in 1582. In Alaska, the change took place after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. Friday, 6 October 1867 was followed by Friday, 18 October. Instead of