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uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) (uk.sci.weather) For the discussion of daily weather events, chiefly affecting the UK and adjacent parts of Europe, both past and predicted. The discussion is open to all, but contributions on a practical scientific level are encouraged. |
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#16
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On 15/03/2016 00:33, Weatherlawyer wrote:
Julius Caesar had the court astronomers reckon the length of the year quite accurately and the year was divided into 10 months. Later this was changed to honour dead people (not called Februs evidently.) The Roman year changed from 10 months to 12 long before Caesar's time. The 10 month year was attributed to Romulus, co-founder of Rome. There is no real evidence that this was so, but the format of the so-called Romulan calendar was well documented by Roman writers. The 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th months were named by their position, which is why they are SEPTember, OCTober, NOVember & DECember. Interestingly the first four months had names that are also still familiar - Martius (the god Mars), Aprilis ('opening'?), Maius (the goddess Maia) & Iunius (poss. for Juno). The fifth month, QUINtilis, was renamed after Julius Caesar, and the sixth, SEXtilis, after Augustus Caesar. The additional two months are said to have been added by Numa Pompilius, king of Rome (715-673 BC). The 10-month calendar had consisted of 304 days, with each month being either 30 or 31 days long. The days between the end of December and the beginning of March were termed 'winter days'. Romans considered even numbers unlucky, so Numa removed one day from the six months of 30 days, and combined them with the 51 winter days to form Ianuarius (29 days) & Februarius (28 days). These were originally added as the 11th & 12th months, but Jan 01 later became the first day of a new year (poss. by Julius Caesar). Ianuaris may have been named for Janus or Juno, while Februarius may come from februum (a thing used for ritual purification). Quintilis was renamed Julius after Caesar's death in 44BC - it was chosen because it was his birth month. Similarly Sextilis was renamed Augustus in 8 BC, while Augustus was still Emperor. Julius Caesar oversaw changes in 46 BC, which were introduced in 45 BC and are now known as the Julian calendar. It fixed the year as 365 days with the extra leap day added every four years (Feb 29). This was still only an approximation of the solar year and the difference between that and the calendar increased to ~11 days by the time Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar in October 1582 - Thu Oct 04 was followed by Fri Oct 15. The changeover took place in different countries at different time, with Britain changing in 1752, and, most-recently, Greece in 1923. The Gregorian calendar removed the leap day in years which were divisible by 400, so far only 1600 & 2000. |
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