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From: "Renee Redshaw" <>
Subject: Fw: JULIAN/GREGORIAN CALENDARS
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 11:49:24 +1000


Dear Listers,

I hope that the following may help those (like myself in the early days
of ancestor hunting) who know very little about the subject calendars.
This is my personal version of all that I have read on the subject.

JULIAN/GREGORIAN CALENDARS - A "potted" history.

In 1752 Great Britain adopted what was termed the "New Style".
The most distinct memory, however, appears to be of people in London
following
Ministers in the street crying "give us back our 11 days"! - the majority
of the
population believed their lives had been shortened by 11 days by Act of
Parliament, which did three things:-
The year computed more in accordance with accuracy, the error of 11 days
occurring during the centuries rectified, and that the year should
officially
begin on the 1st of January.
This made our almanacks agree with every other country in the Christian
world
except Sweden and Russia who, like England, had resisted reform for two
centuries, but they very soon fell into agreement.

The period called the year was set down as 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes
and 57 seconds, which astronomers reduced to 45-1/2. Very early the
astronomical year was taken as 365-1/4 days. The civil year, which people
counted , was taken as 365 days with an extra day once in 4 years.
Julius Caesar reformed the Roman Calendar and adopted this computation
of 365-1/4 days called the Julian Calendar. An error occured after his
death
giving every THIRD year 366 days, but was corrected in AD.7 and prevailed
until Pope Gregory revised it in 1582. It was found by this time that the
Julian Year did not "march" with the seasons, and that June 21st ceased
to be the longest day. Pope Gregory XIII deducted 10 days from the
Calendar,
ordering the day after October 4th should be October 15th.
Spain, Portugal, part of Italy and later in the year, France, Holland and
other
places immediately agreed, but the Protestants resisted for about 20
years
because of it's Roman origin. Protestant England and Sweden refused to
alter, and Russia most likely for the same reason.

The Gregorian Style provided that the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not
leap years, but it would occur in the year 2000 with 366 days, thus aiming
at permanent accuracy. The Calendar would be kept in harmony with the
seasons for ever if the number of the level century year, not equally
divisible by four was not a leap year.

With England adhering to the old style and most of Europe to the new,
great inconvenience was caused to merchants and shipping, and by the 18th
century there was a difference of eleven days. In 1751 the Government
decided on reform and an Act of Parliament was introduced to regulate the
commencement of the year, and also provided that the year should commence
on the 1st of January in September 1752 with 11 days omitted from the
calendar, and that leap years be in accordance with the Gregorian style.

With the passing of the Act, concern was felt among many people that
they had been robbed of 11 days. Provision was made regarding payment
of rents and annuities that no period should be shortened. Farmers as
well
as the rent year was made to terminate 11 days later than shown on the
calendar (one could not expect corn to ripen 11 days early because of the
alteration!). With the mutilated calendar of 1752 Michaelmas or Quarter
Day was the 29th day after the end of August - October 10th, and was the
origin of the old Michaelmas Day. In 1800 and 1900 (not leap years),
Michaelmas Day was advanced by one day - October 11th to October 12th.

From approx. the 6th century Christians regarded Christmas as the start
of the year, but with the changes occurring there was disagreement.
Circumcision (January 1st), Lady Day (March 28th), Easter and Christmas
have all been taken as the beginning of the year, and was not until
Gregory's
reform of the calendar in 1582 that January 1st was at all general.

England generally regarded December 25th as the beginning of the year
until the 12th Century, and the church about that time began to adopt
March 25th. In time this ecclestiastical became the legal and civil year,
but the population used January 1st for ordinary purposes. This caused
great confusion as each date from January 1st to March 24th would be
ascribed by difference people to different years, and no-one seeing the
date could be sure which year was meant. Forgetting the fact that the
year legally commenced on March 25th accounts for people being puzzled
by straight forward records and inscriptions, and it takes some thought
to appreciate the implications in, say, the dates of two successive days
as follows:-
Wednesday 24th March 1730 and
Thursday 25th March 1731
In genealogy up to the change in calendar made by Act of Parliament
in 1752 Parish Records were kept according to the ecclesiastical legal
and civil year - ie - March 25th to March 24th, which must be remembered
when recording our Baptisms, Marriages and Burials. One could find
such puzzling entries as -
A baptism registered October 9th 1730, and the same infant's burial
1st March 1730 - so that it appears the child died before it was born! -
until one works it out. Once understood it is easily explained.

Regards,
Renee, Melbourne

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