1.
Gregorian calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
2.
New Year's resolution
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A New Years resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of year that they would return borrowed objects. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, in the Medieval era, the knights took the peacock vow at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions and this tradition has many other religious parallels. During Judaisms New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur, one is to reflect upon ones wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. People can act similarly during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, in fact, the Methodist practice of New Years resolutions came, in part, from the Lenten sacrifices. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually, at the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of American adults formed New Years resolutions. At the start of the 21st century, about 40% did, some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become more environmentally responsible. About one in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions, men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends
3.
Church service
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A church service is a formalized period of communal worship in Christian tradition. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism, the church service is the gathering together of Christians to be taught the Word of God and encouraged in their faith. Technically, the church in church service refers to the gathering of the rather than to the building in which it takes place. In most Christians traditions, services are presided over by clergy wherever possible, quakers and some other groups have no formal outline to their services, but allow the worship to develop as the participants present feel moved. The real evolution of the Christian service in the first century is shrouded in mystery, similarly, the liturgical year from Christmas via Easter to Pentecost covers roughly five months, the other seven having no major services linked to the work of Christ. However, this is not to say that the Jewish services were copied or deliberately substituted, today a wide variety of church services exist, from the long and elaborate services of Eastern Christianity to the very basic Evangelistic sermon. Though the majority of services are conducted in church buildings designed specifically for that purpose. For those unable to attend a service in a building a burgeoning televangelism. A number of Websites have been set up as cyber-churches to provide a worship space free to anyone on the Internet. Church services are planned and led by a single pastor or a small group of elders or may follow a format laid out by the dictates of the denomination. Some churches are lay led with members of the congregation taking turns guiding the service or simply following format that has evolved over time between the active members, a few begin their church services with the ringing of a bell. The service usually involves the singing of hymns, reading of scripture verses and possibly a psalm, if the church follows a lectionary, the sermon will often be about the scripture lections assigned to that day. Eucharistic churches have usually Holy Communion either every Sunday or several Sundays a month, less liturgical congregations tend to place a greater emphasis on the sermon. Vocal music is sung by a choir or the congregation. Sometimes other instruments such as piano, classical instruments, or modern band instruments may be part of the service, some churches are equipped with state-of-the-art multi-media equipment to add to the worship experience. The congregation may sing along in hymnals or words to hymns, more liturgical denominations may have the words to specific prayers written in a missalette or prayer book, which the congregation follows. Many churches will take up a collection during the service, the rationale for this is taken from 1 Corinthians 16, 1-2,1 Corinthians 9, 9-11, and 1 Timothy 5, 16-18. Some churches offer Sunday school classes, some churches have adult Sunday school either before or after the main worship service
4.
Parade
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A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind. In Britain the term parade is usually reserved for military parades or other occasions where participants march in formation. In the Canadian Forces the term also has less formal connotations. Protest demonstrations can also take the form of a parade, the parade float got its name because the first floats were decorated barges that were towed along canals with ropes held by parade marchers on the shore. Floats were occasionally propelled from within by concealed oarsmen, but the practice was abandoned because of the incidence of drowning when the lightweight. Strikingly, among the first uses of grounded floats — towed by horses — was a ceremony in memory of recently drowned parade oarsmen, today, parade floats are traditionally pulled by motor vehicles or are powered themselves. A grand marshal is a title given to an individual by the organizing committee of a periodic parade event. Similar to guests of honor at fan conventions, a marshal is selected on any basis relevant to the theme or nature of the parade. Multiple grand marshals may often be designated for an iteration of the parade, some parades, such as pride parades, may select a Community Grand Marshal or other designations alongside a Grand Marshal to lead the front or other parts of the parade. Since the advent of technology, it became possible for aircraft. A flypast is a parade of anything from one to dozens of aircraft. They are particularly common in the United Kingdom, where they are associated with Royal occasions. Similarly, for ships, there may be a sail-past of, the longest parade in the world is the Hanover Schützenfest that takes place in Hanover every year during the Schützenfest. The parade is 12 kilometres long with more than 12,000 participants from all over the world, among more than 100 bands and around 70 floats
5.
Fireworks
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Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display, Fireworks competitions are also regularly held at a number of places. Fireworks take many forms to produce the four primary effects, noise, light, smoke and they may be designed to burn with colored flames and sparks including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and silver. Displays are common throughout the world and are the point of many cultural. Fireworks were invented in ancient China in the 7th century to scare evil spirits. Such important events and festivities as Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival were, China is the largest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks in the world. Fireworks are generally classified as to where they perform, either as a ground or aerial firework, in the latter case they may provide their own propulsion or be shot into the air by a mortar. The most common feature of fireworks is a paper or pasteboard tube or casing filled with the combustible material, a number of these tubes or cases are often combined so as to make, when kindled, a great variety of sparkling shapes, often variously colored. The skyrocket is a form of firework, although the first skyrockets were used in war. The aerial shell, however, is the backbone of todays commercial aerial display, such rocket technology has also been used for the delivery of mail by rocket and is used as propulsion for most model rockets. The earliest documentation of fireworks dates back to 7th century China, the fireworks were used to accompany many festivities. It is thus a part of the culture of China and had its origin there, the art and science of firework making has developed into an independent profession. In China, pyrotechnicians were respected for their knowledge of techniques in mounting firework displays. Chinese people originally believed that the fireworks could expel evil spirits and bring about luck, during the Song Dynasty, many of the common people could purchase various kinds of fireworks from market vendors, and grand displays of fireworks were also known to be held. In 1110, a fireworks display in a martial demonstration was held to entertain Emperor Huizong of Song. A record from 1264 states that a rocket-propelled firework went off near the Empress Dowager Gong Sheng, rocket propulsion was common in warfare, as evidenced by the Huolongjing compiled by Liu Bowen and Jiao Yu. In 1240 the Arabs acquired knowledge of gunpowder and its uses from China, with the development of chinoiserie in Europe, Chinese fireworks began to gain popularity around the mid-17th century. Lev Izmailov, ambassador of Peter the Great, once reported from China and his writings would be translated in 1765, resulting in the popularization of fireworks and further attempts to uncover the secrets of Chinese fireworks
6.
New Year's Eve
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In the Gregorian calendar, New Years Eve, the last day of the year, is on December 31 which is the seventh day of the Christmas season. In many countries, New Years Eve is celebrated at evening gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholic beverages. Some Christians attend a watchnight service, the celebrations generally go on past midnight into January 1. Samoa, Tonga and Kiritimati, part of Kiribati, are the first places to welcome the New Year while American Samoa, New Year traditions and celebrations in Canada vary regionally. New Years Eve is generally a social holiday, in some areas, such as in rural Quebec, people ice fish in the old days. Since 2000, the highlight of New Years Eve celebrations is in Montreals old port, which comes alive with concerts that take place and fireworks at midnight. From 1956 to 1976, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians serenaded Canada on the CBC, via a feed from CBS, after Lombardos death in 1977, the Royal Canadians continued on CBC and CBS until 1978. Following the finale of the series, the original cast continued to participate in New Years Eve specials in the years following. Similarly, the CBCs French language network Ici Radio-Canada Télé airs its own yearly New Years Eve comedy special, Bye Bye. Unlike Year of the Farce, Bye Bye has been presented by comedians, originally running from 1968 to 1998. Mexicans celebrate New Years Eve, by eating a grape with each of the chimes of a clocks bell during the midnight countdown. Mexican sweet bread is baked with a coin or charm hidden in the dough, when the bread is served, the recipient of the slice with the coin or charm is said to be blessed with good luck in the New Year. At the same time, they are expressed for all the good things during the year that is ending so that they continue in the new year. Mexicans celebrate with a dinner with their families, the traditional meal being turkey or pork loin. Afterwards many people attend parties outside the home, for example, in Mexico City there is a street festival on New Years Eve centered on the Zocalo, the citys main square. Celebrations include firecrackers, fireworks and sparklers and shouts of ¡Feliz Año Nuevo, in Puerto Rico, New Years Eve is celebrated with friends and family. The Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan is the attraction for Puerto Ricans during the celebration. It has Latin music and fireworks at midnight along with the signature song Auld Lang Syne in Spanish, in the United States, New Years Eve is celebrated with formal parties, family-oriented activities, and other large public events
7.
Christmastide
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Christmastide, also known as Twelvetide, is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. Customs of the Christmas season include carol singing, gift giving, seeing Nativity plays, attending church services, traditional examples of Christmas greetings include the Western Christian phrase Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. and the Eastern Christian greeting Christ is born. To which others respond, Glorify Him, Christmastide begins very early on 25 December. Historically, the ending of Christmastide was 5 January, however, the ending is defined differently by some Christian denominations. In 1969, the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church expanded Christmastide by a number of days. Up to and including the Sunday after Epiphany or after 6 January, in 567, the Council of Tours proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive season, and established the duty of Advent fasting in preparation for the feast. The Council held at Tours also spoke of a three-day fast at the beginning of January as an ancient custom, in that canon, which dealt with the fasts to be observed by monks, the council decreed, De ieiuniis. In Augusto, quia quotidie missae sanctorum sunt, prandium habeant, De Decembri usque ad natale Domini, omni die ieiunent. Et quia inter natale Domini et epiphania omni die festivitates sunt, excipitur triduum illud, quo ad calcandam gentilium consuetudinem, patres nostri statuerunt privatas in Kalendis Ianuarii fieri litanias. In medieval era Christendom, Christmastide lasted from the Nativity to the Purification, many Churches refer to the period after the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas and up to Candlemas, as Epiphanytide, also called the Epiphany season. During the Christmas season, various festivities are traditionally enjoyed and buildings are adorned with Christmas decorations and these Christmas decorations include the Nativity Scene, Christmas tree, jingle bells, as well as various Christmas ornaments. In the Western Christian world, the two days on which Christmas decorations are removed are Twelfth Night and Candlemas. Any not removed on the first occasion should be left undisturbed until the second, leaving the decorations up beyond Candlemas is considered to be inauspicious. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, the start of Christmastide, it is customary for most households in Christendom to attend a service of worship or Mass, in which they receive Holy Communion. The practice of giving gifts during Christmastide, according to Christian tradition, is symbolic of the presentation of the gifts by the Three Wise Men to the infant Jesus. In the Anglian city of Oxford, many Christian families, after attending church, in several parts of the world, it is common to have a large family feast on Christmas Day, preceded with grace. Throughout the twelve days of Christmastide, many people view Nativity plays, in Russia, Christmastide, understood as the period between Orthodox Christmas and Epiphany, is often referred to as Svyatki. During this period, Russians perform fortunetelling by the use of shadows, candles, wax, maidens who participate in the ceremony have to shed everything that “hinders” the flow of spirits including their belts and rings
8.
Julian calendar
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The Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on 1 January 45 BC, by edict, the Julian calendar gains against the mean tropical year at the rate of one day in 128 years. For the Gregorian the figure is one day in 3,030 years, the difference in the average length of the year between Julian and Gregorian is 0. 002%. The Julian calendar has a year of 365 days divided into 12 months. A leap day is added to February every four years, the Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long. It was intended to approximate the tropical year, as a result, the calendar year gains about three days every four centuries compared to observed equinox times and the seasons. This discrepancy was corrected by the Gregorian reform of 1582, consequently, the Julian calendar is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Egypt converted on 20 December 1874/1 January 1875, turkey switched on 16 February/1 March 1917. Russia changed on 1/14 February 1918, Greece made the change for civil purposes on 16 February/1 March 1923 - the national day, which was a religious holiday, was to remain on the old calendar. Most Christian denominations in the west and areas evangelised by western churches have replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian as the basis for their liturgical calendars. However, most branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church still use the Julian calendar for calculating the date of Easter, some Orthodox churches have adopted the Revised Julian calendar for the observance of fixed feasts, while other Orthodox churches retain the Julian calendar for all purposes. The Julian calendar is used by the Berbers of the Maghreb in the form of the Berber calendar. In the form of the Alexandrian calendar, it is the basis for the Ethiopian calendar, during the changeover between calendars and for some time afterwards, dual dating was used in documents and gave the date according to both systems. In contemporary as well as texts that describe events during the period of change. The ordinary year in the previous Roman calendar consisted of 12 months, in addition, a 27- or 28-day intercalary month, the Mensis Intercalaris, was sometimes inserted between February and March. The net effect was to add 22 or 23 days to the year, some say the mensis intercalaris always had 27 days and began on either the first or the second day after the Terminalia. According to the later writers Censorinus and Macrobius, the ideal intercalary cycle consisted of ordinary years of 355 days alternating with intercalary years, alternately 377 and 378 days long. In this system, the average Roman year would have had 366 1⁄4 days over four years, Macrobius describes a further refinement whereby, in one 8-year period within a 24-year cycle, there were only three intercalary years, each of 377 days
9.
Janus
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In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past and it is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus, but according to ancient Roman farmers almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war, the doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. Janus had no flamen or specialised priest assigned to him, Janus had a ubiquitous presence in religious ceremonies throughout the year, and was ritually invoked at the beginning of each one, regardless of the main deity honored on any particular occasion. The ancient Greeks had no equivalent to Janus, whom the Romans claimed as distinctively their own, three etymologies were proposed by ancient erudites, each of them bearing implications about the nature of the god. The first one is based on the definition of Chaos given by Paul the Deacon, hiantem, hiare, be open, in this etymology the notion of Chaos would define the primordial nature of the god. Another etymology proposed by Nigidius Figulus is related by Macrobius, Ianus would be Apollo and Diana Iana and this explanation has been accepted by A. B. It supports all the assimilations of Janus to the sky, the sun. It supposes a former *Dianus, formed on *dia- < *dy-eð2 from Indo-European root *dey- shine represented in Latin by dies day, Diovis, however the form Dianus postulated by Nigidius is not attested. Modern scholars have conjectured that it derives from the Indo-European root meaning transitional movement, iānus would then be an action name expressing the idea of going, passing, formed on the root *yā- < *y-eð2- theme II of the root *ey- go from which eō, ειμι. Other modern scholars object to an Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *yā-, from Ianus derived ianua, and hence the English word janitor. Almost all of modern explanations were originally formulated by the ancients. The function god of beginnings has been expressed in numerous ancient sources, among them most notably Cicero, Ovid. As a god of motion, Janus looks after passages, causes actions to start, since movement and change are interconnected, he has a double nature, symbolised in his two headed image. He has under his tutelage the stepping in and out of the door of homes, the ianua, which took its name from him and he is also present at the Sororium Tigillum, where he guards the terminus of the ways into Rome from Latium. He has an altar, later a temple near the Porta Carmentalis, where the leading to Veii ended, as well as being present on the Janiculum. The connection of the notions of beginning, movement, transition, in general, Janus is at the origin of time as the guardian of the gates of Heaven, Jupiter himself can move forth and back because of Januss working. In one of his temples, probably that of Forum Holitorium, Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of past to future, from one condition to another, from one vision to another, and young peoples growth to adulthood
10.
January
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January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the first month to have the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Years Day and it is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere. In the Southern hemisphere, January is the equivalent of July in the Northern hemisphere. Ancient Roman observances during this month include Cervula, and Juvenalia, celebrated January 1 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. January is named after the Latin word for door, since January is the door to the year, traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months totaling 304 days, winter being considered a month-less period. Around 713 BC, the successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February. Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman calendar, in contrast, each specific calendar year was identified by the names of the two consuls, who entered office on May 1 or March 15 until 153 BC, from when they entered office on January 1. Various Christian feast dates were used for the New Year in Europe during the Middle Ages, including March 25, however, medieval calendars were still displayed in the Roman fashion with twelve columns from January to December. Historical names for January include its original Roman designation, Ianuarius, in Slovene, it is traditionally called január. The name, associated with millet bread and the act of asking for something, was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript. According to Theodor Mommsen,1 January became the first day of the year in 600 AUC of the Roman calendar, a Lusitanian chief called Punicus invaded the Roman territory, defeated two Roman governors, and killed their troops. The Romans resolved to send a consul to Hispania, and in order to accelerate the dispatch of aid, januarys birthstone is the garnet, which represents constancy. Its birth flower is the cottage pink Dianthus caryophyllus or galanthus, the Chinese floral emblem of January is the Prunus mume. The Japanese floral emblem of January is the camellia, the photograph of a large tree covered with ice against a blue sky is a familiar scene during Finlands winter. The zodiac signs for the month of January are Capricorn and Aquarius, all Jewish observances begin on sundown of the day before the date listed and end on sundown of the day listed
11.
Christendom
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The term cristendom existed in Old English, but it had the sense now taken by Christianity. The current sense of the word of lands where Christianity is the dominant religion emerges in Late Middle English, English Christianity equalling German Christentum, French christianisme. The reason is the fragmentation of Western Christianity at that time both in theological and in political respect. Christendom as a term is thus meaningful in the context of the Middle Ages, and arguably during the European wars of religion. The Christian world is known collectively as the Corpus Christianum. The Christian polity, embodying a less secular meaning, can be compatible with the idea of both a religious and a body, Corpus Christianum. The Corpus Christianum can be seen as a Christian equivalent of the Muslim Ummah, the word Christendom is also used with its other meaning to frame-true Christianity. In its most broad term, it refers to the worlds Christian majority countries, unlike the Muslim world, which has a geo-political and cultural definition that provides a primary identifier for a large swath of the world, Christendom is more complex. For example, the Americas and Europe are considered part of Christendom and it is also less geographically cohesive than the Muslim world, which stretches almost continuously from North Africa to South Asia. There is a common and nonliteral sense of the word that is much like the terms Western world, when Thomas F. Connolly said, There isnt enough power in all Christendom to make that airplane what we want. In the beginning of Christendom, early Christianity was a spread in the Greek/Roman world and beyond as a 1st-century Jewish sect. The post-apostolic period concerns the time roughly after the death of the apostles when bishops emerged as overseers of urban Christian populations, the earliest recorded use of the terms Christianity and Catholic, dates to this period, the 2nd century, attributed to Ignatius of Antioch c. Early Christendom would close at the end of persecution of Christians after the ascension of Constantine the Great and the Edict of Milan in AD313. Christendom has referred to the medieval and renaissance notion of the Christian world as a sociopolitical polity, in this period, members of the Christian clergy wield political authority. This model of relations was accepted by various Church leaders. The Church gradually became an institution of the Empire. Emperor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica of 380, the Byzantine Empire was the last bastion of Christendom. Christendom would take a turn with the rise of the Franks, on Christmas Day 800 AD, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne resulting in the creation of another Christian king beside the Christian emperor in the Byzantine state
12.
Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
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The circumcision took place, not in the Temple, though painters sometimes so represent it, but in the home. The feast day appears on 1 January in the calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is celebrated by churches of the Anglican Communion and virtually all Lutheran churches. In these latter Western Christian denominations, the Feast of the Naming, the feast is celebrated with an All-Night Vigil, beginning the evening of December 31. The hymns of the feast are combined with those for Saint Basil the Great, after the Divine Liturgy the next morning, Russian Orthodox churches often celebrate a New Year Molieben to pray for Gods blessing for the beginning of the civil New Year. On the Julian calendar,1 January will correspond, until 2100, accordingly, in Russia,14 January in the civil calendar is known as The Old New Year, since it corresponds to 1 January in the Julian Calendar, still used by the Church. At an early stage the Church in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary of the Mother of God. The emphasis that Saint Bernardine of Siena laid on the name of Jesus in his preaching led in 1721 to the institution of a separate Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, pope John XXIIIs 1960 rubrical and calendrical revision called 1 January simply the Octave of the Nativity. The Anglican communions Book of Common Prayer liturgy celebrates this day as the Circumcision of Christ, since 2000, the Common Worship of the Church of England lists this day as the The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus Christ. The Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church of Canada calls it The Octave Day of Christmas, since it was a feast of Christ and related directly to Scriptural passages, the Feast of Circumcision was retained by churches of the Lutheran Reformation. It remains on most Lutheran liturgical calendars to this day, although there has been a move to call it The Name of Jesus. Circumcision in the Bible Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus Holy prepuce Russia Orthodox explanation of The Circumcision of the Lord An essay on the feast of the circumcision from Anglicans Online
13.
Anglican Communion
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The Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous churches consisting of the Church of England and national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with it. Full participation in the life of each church is available to all communicant Anglicans. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, has a place of honour among the bishops of the Anglican churches and he is recognised as primus inter pares. The archbishop does not exercise authority in the provinces outside England, the churches of the Anglican Communion considers themselves to be part of the nicos one, holy, catholic and apostolic church and to be both Catholic and Reformed. For some adherents, Anglicanism represents a non-papal Catholicism, for others a form of Protestantism though without a dominant guiding figure such as Luther, Knox, Calvin, for others, their self-identity represents some combination of the two. The communion encompasses a spectrum of belief and practice including evangelical, liberal. With a membership estimated at around 85 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of these churches are known as Anglican, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, some, for example the Church of Ireland, the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, and some other associated churches have a separate name. The Anglican Communion has no legal existence nor any governing structure which might exercise authority over the member churches. There is an Anglican Communion Office in London, under the aegis of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Communion is held together by a shared history, expressed in its ecclesiology, polity and ethos and also by participation in international consultative bodies. Early in its development, Anglicanism developed a vernacular prayer book, unlike other traditions, Anglicanism has never been governed by a magisterium nor by appeal to one founding theologian, nor by an extra-credal summary of doctrine. Instead, Anglicans have typically appealed to the Book of Common Prayer and its offshoots as a guide to Anglican theology and this had the effect of inculcating the principle of Lex orandi, lex credendi as the foundation of Anglican identity and confession. These parameters were most clearly articulated in the rubrics of the successive prayer books. With the expansion of the British Empire, and hence the growth of Anglicanism outside Great Britain and Ireland, the first major expression of this were the Lambeth Conferences of the communions bishops, first convened by Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley in 1869. One of the influential early resolutions of the conference was the so-called Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. Its intent was to provide the basis for discussions of reunion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Apostles Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol, and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - ministered with unfailing use of Christs Words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the needs of the nations
14.
Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
15.
Midnight
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Midnight is the transition time period from one day to the next, the moment when the date changes. In ancient Roman timekeeping, midnight was halfway between sunset and sunrise, varying according to the seasons, by clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. Solar midnight is the time opposite to solar noon, when the sun is closest to the nadir, due to the advent of time zones, which make time identical across a range of meridians, and daylight saving time, it rarely coincides with midnight on a clock. Solar midnight is dependent on longitude and time of the rather than on a time zone. In the northern hemisphere, midnight had an ancient geographic association with north, modern Polish and Belarusian preserve this association with its word for midnight, which also means north. Midnight marks the beginning and ending of each day in time throughout the world. It is the point between one day and another. In the United States and Canada, digital clocks and computers commonly display 12 a. m. right at midnight, while that phrase may be used practically, it helps to understand that any particular time is actually an instant. In other words,11,59 p. m. shows until midnight, at the instant of midnight, it changes to 12,00. Simultaneously, the p. m. changes to a. m. though, strictly speaking, a. m. does not apply to the instant of midnight which separates p. m. and a. m. In 24-hour time notation,0,00 and 0,00,00 refer to midnight at the start of a given date, some styles, such as ISO8601, allow 24,00 to refer to the end of a day. While computers and digital clocks display 12,00 a. m. and 12,00 p. m. those notations provide no clear, strictly speaking, it is actually incorrect to use a. m. and p. m. when referring to noon or midnight. The abbreviation a. m. stands for ante meridiem or before noon, since noon is neither after noon nor before noon, and midnight can equally be twelve hours before and after noon, neither abbreviation is correct. m. Some religious calendars continue to begin the day at another time — for example, at sunset in the Hebrew calendar, 12-hour clock Noon New Years Eve National Institute of Standards and Technology
16.
New Year
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New Year is the time at which a new calendar year begins and the calendars year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner and the 1st day of January is often marked as a national holiday, in the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on 1 January. This was also the case both in the old Roman calendar and in the Julian calendar that succeeded it, other calendars have been used historically in different parts of the world, some calendars count years numerically, while others do not. Beginning in 1582, the adoptions of the Gregorian calendar and changes to the Old Style and New Style dates meant the local dates for New Years Day changed to using one fixed date. The widespread official adoption of the Gregorian calendar and marking January 1 as the beginning of a new year is almost global now, regional or local use of other calendars continue, along with the cultural and religious practices that accompany them. In Latin America, various native cultures continue the observation of traditions according to their own calendars, israel, China, India and other countries, continue to celebrate New Year on different dates. The most common dates of modern New Years celebrations are listed below,1 January, The first day of the civil year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries. Contrary to common belief in the west, the civil New Year of January 1 is not an Orthodox Christian religious holiday, the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar makes no provision for the observance of a New Year. January 1 is itself a religious holiday, but that is because it is the feast of the circumcision of Christ, while the liturgical calendar begins September 1, there is also no particular religious observance attached to the start of the new cycle. Orthodox nations may, however, make civil celebrations for the New Year and those that adhere to the revised Julian calendar, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Syria, and Turkey, observe both the religious and civil holidays on January 1. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, the exact date can fall any time between 21 January and 21 February of the Gregorian Calendar. Traditionally, years were marked by one of twelve Earthly Branches, represented by an animal, and one of ten Heavenly Stems and this combination cycles every 60 years. It is the most important Chinese celebration of the year, the Korean New Year is a Seollal, or Lunar New Year’s Day. Although January 1 is, in fact, the first day of the year, Seollal, celebration of the Lunar New Year is believed to have started to let in good luck and ward off bad spirits all throughout the year. With the old year out and a new one in, people gather at home and sit around with their families and relatives, catching up on what they have been doing. The Vietnamese New Year is the Tết Nguyên Đán which most times is the day as the Chinese New Year due to the Vietnamese using the Lunar Calendar. The Tibetan New Year is Losar and falls from January through March, the Mizo in northeast India celebrate their Pawl kut. 29-30 sep Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon after the Northward equinox. Ancient celebrations lasted for eleven days, nava Varsha is celebrated in India in various regions in March–April
17.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
18.
Anglican Church
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The Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous churches consisting of the Church of England and national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with it. Full participation in the life of each church is available to all communicant Anglicans. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, has a place of honour among the bishops of the Anglican churches and he is recognised as primus inter pares. The archbishop does not exercise authority in the provinces outside England, the churches of the Anglican Communion considers themselves to be part of the nicos one, holy, catholic and apostolic church and to be both Catholic and Reformed. For some adherents, Anglicanism represents a non-papal Catholicism, for others a form of Protestantism though without a dominant guiding figure such as Luther, Knox, Calvin, for others, their self-identity represents some combination of the two. The communion encompasses a spectrum of belief and practice including evangelical, liberal. With a membership estimated at around 85 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of these churches are known as Anglican, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, some, for example the Church of Ireland, the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, and some other associated churches have a separate name. The Anglican Communion has no legal existence nor any governing structure which might exercise authority over the member churches. There is an Anglican Communion Office in London, under the aegis of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Communion is held together by a shared history, expressed in its ecclesiology, polity and ethos and also by participation in international consultative bodies. Early in its development, Anglicanism developed a vernacular prayer book, unlike other traditions, Anglicanism has never been governed by a magisterium nor by appeal to one founding theologian, nor by an extra-credal summary of doctrine. Instead, Anglicans have typically appealed to the Book of Common Prayer and its offshoots as a guide to Anglican theology and this had the effect of inculcating the principle of Lex orandi, lex credendi as the foundation of Anglican identity and confession. These parameters were most clearly articulated in the rubrics of the successive prayer books. With the expansion of the British Empire, and hence the growth of Anglicanism outside Great Britain and Ireland, the first major expression of this were the Lambeth Conferences of the communions bishops, first convened by Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley in 1869. One of the influential early resolutions of the conference was the so-called Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. Its intent was to provide the basis for discussions of reunion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Apostles Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol, and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - ministered with unfailing use of Christs Words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the needs of the nations
19.
March equinox
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In the Northern Hemisphere the March equinox is known as the vernal equinox, and in the Southern Hemisphere as the autumnal equinox. On the Gregorian calendar the Northward equinox can occur as early as 19 March or as late as 21 March. For a common year the computed time slippage is about 5 hours 49 minutes later than the previous year, and for a leap year about 18 hours 11 minutes earlier than the previous year. Balancing the increases of the years against the losses of the leap years keeps the calendar date of the March equinox from drifting more than one day from 20 March each year. The March equinox may be taken to mark the beginning of spring and the end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere but marks the beginning of autumn, in astronomy, the March equinox is the zero point of sidereal time and, consequently, right ascension. It also serves as a reference for calendars and celebrations in many human cultures, the March equinox is one point in time commonly used to determine the length of the tropical year. The mean tropical year is the average of all the tropical years measured from every point along the Earths orbit. The following table shows the small variations in timing over a period of time. The point where the Sun crosses the equator northwards is called the First Point of Aries. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, this point is no longer in the constellation Aries, by the year 2600 it will be in Aquarius. The Earths axis causes the First Point of Aries to travel westwards across the sky at a rate of one degree every 72 years. It passed by a corner of Cetus at 0°10′ distance in the year 1489. In its apparent motion on the day of an equinox, the Suns disk crosses the Earths horizon directly to the east at dawn—rising, the March equinox, like all equinoxes, is characterized by having an almost exactly equal amount of daylight and night across most latitudes on Earth. Due to refraction of light rays in the Earths atmosphere the Sun will be visible above the horizon even when its disc is completely below the limb of the Earth and these conditions produce differentials of actual durations of light and darkness at various locations on Earth during an equinox. This is most notable at the extreme latitudes, where the Sun may be seen to travel sideways considerably during the dawn. The Persian calendar begins each year at the equinox, observationally determined at Tehran. The Indian national calendar starts the year on the day next to the equinox on 22 March with a 30-day month. The Julian calendar reform lengthened seven months and replaced the intercalary month with a day to be added every four years to February
20.
September
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September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the third month to have the length of 30 days. It is also the month with the longest name, September in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of March in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the autumn is on 1 September. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the spring is on 1 September. September marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is the start of the year in many countries, in which children go back to school after the summer break. September was originally the seventh of ten months on the oldest known Roman calendar, after the calendar reform that added January and February to the beginning of the year, September became the ninth month, but retained its name. It had 29 days until the Julian reform, which added a day, ancient Roman observances for September include Ludi Romani, originally celebrated from September 12 to September 14, later extended to September 5 to September 19. In the last 1st century BC, a day was added in honor of the deified Julius Caesar on 4 September. Ludi Triumphales was held from September 18–22, the Septimontium was celebrated in September, and on December 11 on later calendars. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar, in 1752, the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar. In the British Empire that year, September 2 was immediately followed by September 14, September was called harvest month in Charlemagnes calendar. September corresponds partly to the Fructidor and partly to the Vendémiaire of the first French republic, on Usenet, it is said that September 1993 never ended. September is called Herbstmonat, harvest month, in Switzerland, the Anglo-Saxons called the month Gerstmonath, barley month, that crop being then usually harvested. The September equinox takes place in this month, and certain observances are organized around it and it is the Autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Vernal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. The dates can vary from 21 September to 24 September, September is mostly in the sixth month of the astrological calendar, which begins at the end of March/Mars/Aries. The birth flowers for September are the forget-me-not, morning glory, the zodiac signs for the month of September are Virgo and Libra whose end and start are related to equinox date. This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance, emergency Number Day Enkutatash falls on this day if it is not a leap year. National Day of Catalonia National Hot Cross Bun Day Nayrouz Patriot Day Remember Freedom Day Teachers Day September 12 Day of Conception Day of the Programmer, Enkutatash falls on this day if it is a leap year
21.
December
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December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is the seventh and last month to have the length of 31 days, December got its name from the Latin word decem because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the Roman calendar, which began in March. The winter days following December were not included as part of any month, later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, but December retained its name. In Ancient Rome, one of the four Agonalia, this day in honor of Sol Indiges was held on December 11 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. The Anglo-Saxons referred to December/January as Ġēolamonaþ, the French Republican Calendar contained December within the months of Frimaire and Nivôse. December contains the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest daylight hours, and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, December in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the winter is traditionally 21 December or the date of the solstice. The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius and Capricorn, decembers birth flower is the narcissus. Decembers birthstones are the turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite and this list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance. December 18, Amavasya In Catholic tradition, December is the Month of the Advent of Christ
22.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
23.
Roman Kingdom
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The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories. The site of the founding of the Roman Kingdom and eventual Republic, the Palatine Hill and hills surrounding it presented easily defensible positions in the wide fertile plain surrounding them. All of these contributed to the success of the city. The Gauls destroyed much of Romes historical records when they sacked the city after the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC, with no contemporary records of the kingdom existing, all accounts of the kings must be carefully questioned. The insignia of the kings of Rome were twelve lictors wielding the fasces bearing axes, the right to sit upon a Curule chair, the purple Toga Picta, red shoes, of all these insignia, the most important was the purple toga. The imperium of the king was held for life and protected him from ever being brought to trial for his actions. As being the owner of imperium in Rome at the time. Also, the laws that kept citizens safe from magistrates misuse of imperium did not exist during the monarchical period, another power of the king was the power to either appoint or nominate all officials to offices. The king would appoint a tribunus celerum to serve as both the tribune of Ramnes tribe in Rome and as the commander of the personal bodyguard. The king was required to appoint the tribune upon entering office, the tribune was second in rank to the king and also possessed the power to convene the Curiate Assembly and lay legislation before it. Another officer appointed by the king was the praefectus urbi, who acted as the warden of the city. When the king was absent from the city, the prefect held all of the powers and abilities. The king even received the right to be the person to appoint patricians to the Senate. The people knew the king as a mediator between them and the gods and thus viewed the king with religious awe and this made the king the head of the national religion and its chief executive. Having the power to control the Roman calendar, he conducted all religious ceremonies and appointed lower religious offices and it is said that Romulus himself instituted the augurs and was believed to have been the best augur of all. Likewise, King Numa Pompilius instituted the pontiffs and through them developed the foundations of the dogma of Rome. They could only be called together by the king and could discuss the matters the king laid before them. While the Curiate Assembly did have the power to pass laws that had submitted by the king
24.
Numa Pompilius
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Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Romes most important religious, according to Plutarch, Numa was the youngest of Pomponiuss four sons, born on the day of Romes founding. He lived a life of discipline and banished all luxury from his home. Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines and a colleague of Romulus, gave in marriage his daughter, Tatia. After 13 years of marriage, Tatia died, precipitating Numas retirement to the countryside, according to Livy, Numa resided at Cures immediately before being elected king. Livy and Plutarch refer to the story that Numa was instructed in philosophy by Pythagoras, Plutarch reports that some authors credited him with only a single daughter, Pompilia. Pompilias mother is identified as Numas first wife Tatia or his second wife Lucretia. She is said to have married the future first pontifex maximus Numa Marcius, still other writers, writes Plutarch, believed these were fictional genealogies to enhance the status of these families. After the death of Romulus, there was an interregnum of one year in which the power was exercised by members of the Senate in rotation for five days in a row. In 715 BC, after much bickering between the factions of Romulus and Tatius, a compromise was reached, and the Sabine Numa was elected by the senate as the next king, according to Plutarch, Numa was a cunning and calculating person. At first he refused the offer and his father and Sabine kinsmen, including his teacher and the father of Numas son-in law, Marcus, along with an embassy of two senators from Rome, banded together to persuade him to accept. In the account of Plutarch and Livy, Numa, after being summoned by the Senate from Cures, was offered the tokens of power amid an enthusiastic reception by the people of Rome. He requested, however, that an augur should divine the opinion of the gods on the prospect of his kingship before he accepted, Jupiter was consulted and the omens were favourable. Thus approved by the Roman and Sabine people as well as the heavens, according to Plutarch, Numas first act was to disband the personal guard of 300 so-called Celeres with which Romulus permanently surrounded himself. The gesture is variously interpreted as self-protection in the face of their questionable loyalty, based on Roman chronology, Numa died of old age in 673 BC. He was succeeded by Tullus Hostilius, Numa was traditionally celebrated by the Romans for his wisdom and piety. According to Livy, Numa claimed that he held consultations with Egeria on the proper manner of instituting sacred rites for the city. Numa was said to have authored several sacred books in which he had written down divine teachings, mostly from Egeria, the other books dealt with philosophy
25.
Ianuarius
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Ianuarius, fully Mensis Ianuarius, was the first month of the ancient Roman calendar, from which the Julian and Gregorian month of January derived. In the calendars of the Roman Republic, Ianuarius had 29 days, two days were added when the calendar was reformed under Julius Caesar in 45 BCE. In the oldest Roman calendar, which the Romans believed to have been instituted by their legendary founder Romulus, the first month was Martius, and the calendar year had only ten months. Ianuarius and Februarius were supposed to have added by Numa Pompilius. It is unclear when the Romans reset the course of the year so that January and February came first, many Roman festivals and religious observances reflect the Romans agrarian way of life in their early history. Agricultural calendars show that for farmers, January continued the relatively slack time they experienced in December, varro, in his agricultural treatise, divides the agricultural year into eight phases. The phase from the solstice to February 7, when Favonius the west wind was thought to start blowing favorably, was not for hard work. In the Roman Republic, consuls entered office at the beginning of the year, from 153 BC onward, auspices were taken, and if favorable the two consuls went home and put on their toga praetexta, with the purple stripe signifying their status. A procession of senators and equestrians accompanied them from their home to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, the people dressed festively and watched the parade. At the temple, each consul sacrificed a bull to Jupiter in fulfillment of the vow made by the previous years consuls to ask for the wellbeing of the commonwealth. The senior of the two consuls next convened the senate, among other business, he announced the date of the Feriae Latinae, a moveable feast to be held in April and one of the oldest festivals of the religious calendar. Within five days, in the presence of the quaestors at the Temple of Saturn, in the Imperial period, vows for the wellbeing of the emperor were made instead. The Romans did not number days of a month sequentially from the 1st through the last day, instead, they counted back from the three fixed points of the month, the Nones, the Ides, and the Kalends of the following month. The Nones of January fell on the 5th, and the Ides on the 13th, the last day of January was the pridie Kalendas Februarias, day before the Kalends of February. Roman counting was inclusive, January 9 was ante diem V Idūs Ianuarias, feb. the 10th day before the Kalends of February. On the calendar of the Roman Republic and early Principate, each day was marked with a letter to denote its religiously lawful status, days were also marked with nundinal letters in cycles of A B C D E F G H, to mark the market week. January had two feriae conceptivae, moveable feasts that occur on varying days to be announced by the Roman pontiffs. These were Compitalia and Sementivae, which the table below shows on the dates when they seem to have been observed most often, a dies natalis was an anniversary such as a temple founding or rededication, sometimes thought of as the birthday of a deity
26.
Februarius
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Februarius or February, fully the February month, was the shortest month of the Roman calendar. It was eventually placed second in order, preceded by Ianuarius, in the oldest Roman calendar, which the Romans believed to have been instituted by their legendary founder Romulus, March was the first month, and the calendar year had only ten months in all. Ianuarius and Februarius were supposed to have added by Numa Pompilius. Julius Caesar decided in 46 BC to move the start of the calendar from the beginning of March to the beginning of January, Februarius was the only month in the pre-Julian calendar to have an even number of days, numbering 28. This was mathematically necessary to permit the year itself to have an odd number of days, ancient sources derived Februarius from februum, a thing used for ritual purification. Most of the observances in this month concerned the dead or closure, many Roman festivals and religious observances reflect the Romans agrarian way of life in their early history. The grain fields were to be weeded, vineyards tended, some kinds of trees were pruned, and attention was given to olive and fruit trees. The agricultural writer Columella says that meadows and grain fields are purged, the duties of February thus suggest the close bond between agriculture and religion in Roman culture. According to the farmers almanacs, the deity of the month was Neptune. The Romans did not number days of a month sequentially from the 1st through the last day, instead, they counted back from the three fixed points of the month, the Nones, the Ides, and the Kalends of the following month. The Nones of February was the 5th, and the Ides the 13th, the last day of February was the pridie Kalendas Martias, day before the Kalends of March. Roman counting was inclusive, February 9 was ante diem V Idūs Februarias, mart. the 6th day before the Kalends of March. February had one and possibly two moveable feasts, the Amburbium was a purification of the whole city with no fixed date, but seems to have been held in February. The Fornacalia was celebrated by the thirty ancient divisions of the Roman people known as curiae, each curia celebrated a festival separately under its own leader on various days following the Nones. These dates were established and publicized by the curio maximus, the chief curio, anyone who missed the Fornacalia celebrated by his own curia, or who didnt know his curia, could attend a public festival which was always held as the concluding ceremony on February 17. The Fornacalia overlapped with the festival of the dead that dominated the month, and on its last day coincided with the Quirinalia. Each day was marked with a letter to denote its status under religious law, by the late 2nd century AD, extant calendars no longer show days marked with these letters, probably in part as a result of calendar reforms undertaken by Marcus Aurelius. Days were also marked with letters in cycles of A B C D E F G H
27.
Roman consul
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A consul was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic, and the consulship was considered the highest level of the cursus honorum. Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term, the consuls alternated in holding imperium each month, and a consuls imperium extended over Rome, Italy, and the provinces. Originally, consuls were called praetors, referring to their duties as the military commanders. By at least 300 BC the title of Consul was being used, in Greek, the title was originally rendered as στρατηγός ὕπατος, strategos hypatos, and later simply as ὕπατος. The consul was believed by the Romans to date back to the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC. These remained in place until the office was abolished in 367/366 BC, consuls had extensive powers in peacetime, and in wartime often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rites which, as a sign of their formal importance, consuls also read auguries, an essential step before leading armies into the field. Two consuls were elected each year, serving together, each with power over the others actions. It is thought that only patricians were eligible for the consulship. Consuls were elected by the Comitia Centuriata, which had a bias in its voting structure which only increased over the years from its foundation. If a consul died during his term or was removed from office, a consul elected to start the year - called a consul ordinarius - held more prestige than a suffect consul, partly because the year would be named for ordinary consuls. The first plebeian consul, Lucius Sextius, was elected the following year and it is possible that only the chronology has been distorted, but it seems that one of the first consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus, came from a plebeian family. Another possible explanation is that during the 5th century social struggles, during times of war, the primary qualification for consul was military skill and reputation, but at all times the selection was politically charged. With the passage of time, the became the normal endpoint of the cursus honorum. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla regulated the cursus by law, the age of election to consul became. Beginning in the late Republic, after finishing a year, a former consul would usually serve a lucrative term as a proconsul. The most commonly chosen province for the proconsulship was Cisalpine Gaul, throughout the early years of the Principate although the consuls were still formally elected by the Comitia Centuriata, they were in fact nominated by the princeps. It was a post that would be occupied by a man halfway through his career, in his early thirties for a patrician, emperors frequently appointed themselves, or their protégés or relatives, consuls, even without regard to the age requirements
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Nundinae
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The nundinae, sometimes anglicized to nundines, were the market days of the ancient Roman calendar, forming a kind of weekend including religious observance and rest from work. The nundinal cycle, market week, or 8-day week was the cycle of days preceding each nundinae and these were marked on Roman calendars using nundinal letters from A to H. The earliest form of the Roman calendar is said to have included exactly 38 such cycles. The lengths of the Republican and Julian calendars, however, were not evenly divisible by 8, under these systems and these letters formed the basis of the later Christian dominical letters. The name nūndinae was apparently formed from a form of nōnus and -din-. Like feriae and the names of most other recurring days of the Roman calendar, nundinae always appeared as a plural in classical Latin, even in references to a single day. The English form nundine, following French nundines, similarly appeared only as a plural at first, in Roman inscriptions, the word was abbreviated NVN. The form nundinum for the span between the nundinae seems to have been standard in early Latin, but only appears in compounds, the name of the 8-day cycle is based upon the Latin word for nine because the Romans tended to count dates inclusively. Each nundinae was thought to follow the next after a 9-day interval because the first day was included in the count, the Etruscans also celebrated an 8-day week which may have been the basis of the Roman system. They supposedly used each day for royal audiences and councils with their various kings, dates otherwise permitted for public assemblies were still downgraded if a nundinae occurred on them. The theoretical proscriptions concerning the nundinae were not always observed, the rebellion of M. Cicero complains in one of his letters about a contio being held in the Circus Flaminius despite the nundinae. The nundinae of the late Republic and early Empire were possibly centered on the Circus Flaminius, the 7-day week first came into use in Italy during the early imperial period. For a time, both systems were used together, but the nundinae are seldom mentioned in extant sources after the Julio-Claudian period. The nundinal cycle had fallen out of use by the time Constantine adopted the Christian week for official use in AD321 by making its Day of the Sun a legal holiday. Different scholars have placed the end of 8-day markets at various dates from the late 1st to early 5th centuries, the nundinal cycle formed a rhythm within quotidian Roman life. Children and adolescents were exempted from school, the church authorities later issued similar admonitions concerning its clerics, priests, and bishops. Nundinae were used for parties and public announcements, especially of coming assemblies. Later writers praising early Romes rusticity and spartanness claimed that its farmers would busy themselves with labor during the week and only groom and fully bathe on the nundinae
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Pontifex Maximus
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The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, a distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian who, however, although the most influential office within Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was ranked the fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind the rex sacrorum and the flamines maiores. It is not included in the Popes official titles, but appears on buildings, monuments and coins of popes of Renaissance, according to the usual interpretation, the term pontifex literally means bridge-builder, maximus literally means greatest. However, it was understood in its symbolic sense as well. The last derivation is mentioned also by Varro, who rejected it, others have held that the word was originally pompifex. The word pons originally meant way and pontifex would thus mean maker of roads, another opinion is that the word is a corruption of a similar-sounding but etymologically unrelated Etruscan word for priest. Yet another hypothesis considers the word as a loan from the Sabine language, in which it would mean a member of a college of five, from Osco-Umbrian ponte, the pontifex would thence be a member of a sacrificial college known as pomperia. The term ἀρχιερεύς is used in the Septuagint text of the Old Testament, the Collegium Pontificum was the most important priesthood of ancient Rome. The foundation of this college and the office of Pontifex Maximus is attributed to the second king of Rome. Much of what is known about the Regal period in Roman history is semi-legendary or mythical, the Collegium presumably acted as advisers to the rex in religious matters. The collegium was headed by the pontifex maximus, and all the pontifices held their office for life, Numa is said to have founded Roman religion after dedicating an altar on the Aventine Hill to Jupiter Elicius and consulting the gods by means of augury. Numa wrote down and sealed these religious instructions, and gave them to the first Pontifex Maximus, in the Roman Republic, the Pontifex Maximus was the highest office in the state religion of ancient Rome and directed the College of Pontiffs. The rex sacrorum was explicitly deprived of military and political power, the official residence of the Pontifex Maximus was the Domus Publica which stood between the House of the Vestal Virgins and the Via Sacra, close to the Regia, in the Roman Forum. His religious duties were carried out from the Regia, unless the pontifex maximus was also a magistrate at the same time, he was not allowed to wear the toga praetexta, i. e. toga with the purple border. The Pontifex was not simply a priest and he had both political and religious authority. It is not clear which of the two came first or had the most importance, in practice, particularly during the late Republic, the office of Pontifex Maximus was generally held by a member of a politically prominent family. It was a position mainly for the great prestige it conferred on the holder, Julius Caesar became pontifex in 73 BC
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Christmas
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In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family. Although the month and date of Jesus birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar and this is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Although it is not known why December 25 became a date of celebration, December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. Jesus was identified with the Sun based on an Old Testament verse, the date is exactly nine months following Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated. Finally, the Romans had a series of pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. Christmas is a form of Christs mass. It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, crīst is from Greek Khrīstos, a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ, Messiah, meaning anointed, and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form Christenmas was also used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal, it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. In addition to Christmas, the holiday has been known by other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, or, more rarely, Nativity, meaning birth, is from Latin nātīvitās. In Old English, Gēola referred to the corresponding to December and January. Noel entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis, the canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census and it says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels, the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century, the feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day
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Lady Day
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It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days. The Lady is the Virgin Mary, the term derives from Middle English, when some nouns lost their genitive inflections. Lady would later gain an -s genitive ending, and therefore the name means Ladys day, in England, Lady Day was New Years Day between 1155 and 1752, when 1 January was declared to be the official start of the year. A vestige of this remains in the United Kingdoms tax year, until this change Lady Day had been used as the start of the legal year. This should be distinguished from the liturgical and historical year and it appears that in England and Wales, from at least the late 14th century, New Years Day was celebrated on 1 January as part of Yule. Before 1751 the year began in March, farmers time of entry into new farms and onto new fields was often this day. As a result, farming families who were changing farms would travel from the old farm to the new one on Lady Day, after the calendar change, Old Lady Day, the former date of the Annunciation, largely assumed this role. The date is significant in some of the works of Thomas Hardy, such as Tess of the dUrbervilles, in Ireland, however, Ladys Day means 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, and is a day when fairs are celebrated in many country towns. New Year International Womens Day —8 March Mothers Day Mothering Sunday National Womens Day
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Feast of the Annunciation
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It is celebrated on 25 March each year. The Feast of the Annunciation is observed almost universally throughout Christianity, especially within Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Catholicism and it is a major Marian feast, classified as a solemnity in the Catholic Church, a Festival in the Lutheran Churches, and a Principal Feast in the Anglican Communion. Here is recorded the angelic salutation of Gabriel to Mary, Hail, full of grace, the LORD is with thee, and Marys response to Gods will, Let it be done to me according to thy word. The angelic salutation is the origin of the Hail Mary prayer and the Angelus, the Feast of the Annunciation was celebrated as early as the fourth or fifth century. A Synod of Worcester, England in 1240 forbade all work on the feast. As this feast celebrates the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity, many Church Fathers, including St. Athanasius, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Augustine, have expounded on it. In the tradition of the Western Churches, the feast is moved if necessary to prevent it falling during Holy Week or Easter Week or on a Sunday on the liturgical calendars. To avoid a Sunday before Holy Week, the day would be observed instead. In years such as 2016 when 25 March fell within Holy Week or Easter Week, in the tradition of the Eastern churches, the feast of the Annunciation is never moved under any circumstance. They have special combined liturgies for those years when the Annunciation coincides with another feast, in these churches, even on Good Friday a Divine Liturgy is celebrated when it coincides with the Annunciation. The Knights of Columbus observe the Feast of the Annunciation as the International Day of the Unborn Child
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Computus
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Computus is a calculation that determines the calendar date of Easter. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, for most of their history Christians have calculated Easter independently of the Jewish calendar. In principle, Easter falls on the Sunday following the moon that follows the northern spring equinox. However, the equinox and the full moon are not determined by astronomical observation. The vernal equinox is fixed to fall on 21 March, the full moon is an ecclesiastical full moon determined by reference to a lunar calendar, which again varied in different areas. The last limit arises from the fact that the crucifixion was considered to have happened on the 14th, the synodic month had already been measured to a high degree of accuracy. The schematic model that eventually was accepted is the Metonic cycle, in 1583, the Catholic Church began using 21 March under the Gregorian calendar to calculate the date of Easter, while the Eastern Churches have continued to use 21 March under the Julian calendar. The Catholic and Protestant denominations thus use a full moon that occurs four. The earliest and latest dates for Easter are 22 March and 25 April, in the Gregorian calendar those dates are as commonly understood. Easter is the most important Christian feast, and the date of its celebration has been the subject of controversy as early as the meeting of Anicetus. The rest of the Christian world at time, according to Eusebius, held to the view which still prevails. Eusebius does not say how the Sunday was decided, by the end of the 3rd century some Christians had become dissatisfied with what they perceived as the disorderly state of the Jewish calendar. The chief complaint was that the Jewish practice sometimes set the 14th of Nisan before the spring equinox, and it was explicitly stated by Peter, bishop of Alexandria that the men of the present day now celebrate before the equinox. through negligence and error. Another objection to using the Jewish computation may have been that the Jewish calendar was not unified, Jews in one city might have a method for reckoning the Week of Unleavened Bread different from that used by the Jews of another city. Because of these perceived defects in the practice, Christian computists began experimenting with systems for determining Easter that would be free of these defects. At the First Council of Nicaea in 325, it was agreed that the Christians should observe a common date, because of the divergence of tables mentioned above it was usual to negotiate a common date when discrepancies arose. It took several centuries before a common method was accepted throughout Christendom, the process of working out the details generated still further controversies. The method from Alexandria became authoritative, in its developed form it was based on the epacts of a reckoned moon according to the 19-year Metonic cycle
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Easter
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It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the fortieth day, the Feast of the Ascension. The First Council of Nicaea established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified, these were worked out in practice and it has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March, but calculations vary. Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, in many languages, the words for Easter and Passover are identical or very similar. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church. The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection, traditionally decorates the area of churches on this day. Additional customs that have associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades. There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally, however, it is possible that Bede was only speculating about the origin of the term since there is no firm evidence that such a goddess actually existed. In Greek and Latin, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Πάσχα, Pascha, the word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt. In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek, Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration. The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith, the resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. For those who trust in Jesus death and resurrection, death is swallowed up in victory, any person who chooses to follow Jesus receives a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation. Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper, sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the room during the Last Supper he prepared himself. He identified the matzah and cup of wine as his soon to be sacrificed
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Astronomy
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Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, while the phenomena include supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, more generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earths atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, during the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in the discovery. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, Astronomy means law of the stars. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct. Generally, either the term astronomy or astrophysics may be used to refer to this subject, however, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics, some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics. In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye, in some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye, most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon, the Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a cycle known as a saros
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equinox
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"New Year's Day". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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