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system which determines the beginning of months and years
this
continued until 1582 AD. The number of each year is based on
the
Dionysius numbering system. (for more information on how it
spread read our article What Did We Use Before BC and AD)
The need for the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar came
about
because a year is not exactly 365 days long. It is actually 365
and a
quarter days long. Every 4 years, March 1st moved behind a
day
until after centuries instead of being early spring March 1st
was nowthe beginning of winter. Something had to be done.
The Gregorian Calendar was introduced in the Catholic parts
of
Europe in 1582 A.D. by Pope Gregory XIII (then the religious
leader
of the Roman Catholic faith) as an improvement upon the
Julian
Calendar to keep the average length of the calendar year better
in
line with the seasons.
Now here's a rule that will drive you crazy. The rules, months,
and
days of the Gregorian calendar are the same as those of the
Julian
Calendar, except for the leap year rules. In the Gregorian
calendar, a
year is a leap year if the year number is evenly divisible by
4.However century years follow a different rule. The number must
be
divisible by both 100 and 400 to be a leap year, otherwise it is
not a
leap year. For example 1600 and 2000 are leap years, but
1700,
1800, and 1900 are not.
"The legal code of the United States does not specify an
official national calendar. Use
of the Gregorian calendar in the United States is a result of an
Act of Parliament of
the United Kingdom in 1751, which specified use of the Gregorian
calendar in
England and its colonies. However, its adoption in the United
Kingdom and other
countries was fraught with confusion, controversy, and even
violence. It also had a
deeper cultural impact through the disruption of traditional
festivals and calendrical
practices." (Seidelmann, P. Kenneth, Explanatory Supplement,
United States Naval
Observatory. Nautical Almanac, pg. 578)
The widespread use of the Gregorian calendar and the use of
BC
and AD throughout the world came about thanks to the
colonization
practices of Europe and economic pressures of a world-wide
economy led by Europe and the United States. This is
gradually
changing as more and more academic writers prefer the use of
CE
rather than AD.
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What Did We Use Before BC and AD
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