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Calendar NotesBRIEF HISTORY OF CALENDARSThe first calendars were developed by scientific minded, ingenious humans who had basically no technology and very limited knowledge of the earth and its movements. So, how did they develop a calendar?We presume that these intelligent humans shrewdly observed what they perceived to be movements of the sun. Eventually they learned to associate warm weather with certain positions of the sun in the sky. They also observed shadows created by sunlight as they lengthened in warm weather and got shorter as the weather turned cold. Ultimately, they deduced that keeping close track of shadows could provide them with accurate information needed for planting crops and observing their religious ceremonies. Thus, thousands of years ago, the CALENDAR was born.STONEHENGEStonehenge, located in the U.K., is a very popular tourist destination. Part of the allure is the mysterious circumstances surrounding this unique rock formation where huge slabs of stone weighing thousands of pounds each were placed by humans on top of other large slabs…approximately 4,000 year ago. There are two mysteries here: why did these early, prehistoric humans build Stonehenge, and how did they manage to lift tons of slabs several feet above the ground…they had very little known technology and had not even learned to write. Modern scientists believe that Stonehenge was not only a burial site but also a site where religious ceremonies took place. But one thing they do know: the structure was a ‘solar observatory’ built in such a way as to accurately determine the dates for seasonal change. Archaeologists tell us that a number of ancient civilizations independently and successfully learned about the special days called solstices and hence to predict developed calendars.Whoever and whenever calendars were developed, however, they were always based on earth’s regular, dependable movements around the sun that we call revolutions. ROMAN CALENDARThe basis for the calendar used today goes back to the days of the Roman civilization when Augustus Caesar ruled the Roman empire. The month of August bears his name, and July honors Julius Caesar.The calendar was refined and improved in 1580, but since that year, calendars have changed very little. There has been no need…our modern calendar is extremely accurate.A HANDY RHYME TO REMEMBEROf the 12 months in the calendar, 4 of them are 30 days. “30 days hath September, April, June, and November…’The other 8 months, except for FEBRUARY, have 31 days.LEAP YEARBecause a complete revolution of earth around the sun takes 365.25 days, the calendar must be adjusted by adding one (1) day every 4 years. Years in which the day is added is called LEAP YEAR.In Leap Years a day is added to the month of February giving it 29 days. Leap years can be determined by dividing the year by 4. That year WILL be a leap year IF there is NO REMAINDER in the quotient.Example: 2020 divided by 4 = 505 with NO remainder. Therefore 2020 is a leap year. The next leap year will be 2024. CALENDAR DATES TO REMEMBER (and understand)(These dates vary by one or two days each year, but for convenience, we will use the following for our purposes.)December 21: Winter Solstice in the N. Hemisphere Marks the first day of winter Shortest day of the year (least amount of daylight) Summer Solstice in the S. Hemisphere First day of summer Longest day of the year (greatest amount of daylight)March 21: Spring Equinox in the N. Hemisphere First day of spring Equal amounts of daylight and darkness Fall Equinox in the S. Hemisphere First day of fall Equal amounts of daylight and darknessJune 21: Summer Solstice in the N. Hemisphere First day of summer Longest day of the year Winter Solstice in the S. Hemisphere First day of winter Shortest day of the yearSeptember 21: Fall Equinox in the N. Hemisphere First day of fall Equal amounts of daylight and darkness Spring Equinox in the S. Hemisphere First day of spring Equal amounts of daylight and darknessAs is the case with the calendar, solstices and equinoxes are naturally occurring events based on the changing positions of earth as it orbits or revolves around the sun. However, were earth not tilted at an angle of approximately 23 degrees, these seasonal changes would not occur. The movement of earth is so precise, dependable, and mathematical in nature that you can set your calendar by these movements—no pun intended. The ‘INTELLIGENT DESIGN’ of this natural phenomena of a never ending cycle of seasonal change that makes earth more habitable is just another piece of evidence that earth was created by an all-powerful God! ................
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