4 ms·

Heh heh. Churches have been squabbling about the date of Easter since there was Easter. It seems this particular resolution of the problem relates to the weste

Heh heh. Churches have been squabbling about the date of Easter since there was Easter. It seems this particular resolution of the problem relates to the western church's choices for Easter. Orthodox people still, if I understand it right, use the Julian calendar. This stuff is hard to get right, even if you're a bishop with legions of scholars and theologians at your disposal. And, just for grins, look up how the modern state of Israel decided when daylight saving time begins and ends up until 2012. (They rationalized it in 2012.)

asmithmd1 9y ago
This is why there is an official priest in the Catholic church who is an astronomer. Churches had lines inscribed on the floor showing where a spot of sunlight would be on noon of the Spring equinox: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/catholics-built-secret-astronomical-features-into-churches-to-help-save-souls http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/catholics-built-secret-...
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Summer_Time#2005.E2.80.932012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Summer_Time#2005.E2.80.... > Until 2005, the start and end of IDT each year was established in an ad hoc fashion as the result of haggling between political parties representing various sectors of Israeli society. Parties representing religious groups wanted the start delayed till after Passover and the end to precede Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, while the secular parties would argue for starting it earlier and ending it later. Sounds like business as usual for a modern 2-party state. What was more interesting to me, as a programmer, was the next line: > In the past, the unpredictability of IDT in Israel became frustrating enough that Microsoft Windows stopped trying to track changes and just made Israeli time be Greenwich Mean Time plus two hours (GMT+2) (and disabled the daylight saving option). This has led to various ad hoc solutions to the problem in Windows systems and other Microsoft software (e.g. Outlook calendar entries are often off by an hour when shared, due to the lack of IDT support). On November 17, 2009, Microsoft released an update that has daylight saving time enabled for Israel. However, the date for transition back to Standard Time is set as the Second Sunday of September, regardless of the Hebrew Calendar date.[4] Windows 7 does contain correct IDT times up to 2023, but not all software makes use of this extra information. OK, I know that I'm supposed to just import my system date/time library for timekeeping functions. Because it's too complicated for mortals like me, while Microsoft, Apple, Google, and other major institutions can handle all the inanities. But Microsoft gave up on this one? Ouch.

asmithmd1 9y ago

This is why there is an official priest in the Catholic church who is an astronomer. Churches had lines inscribed on the floor showing where a spot of sunlight would be on noon of the Spring equinox: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/catholics-built-secret-astronomical-features-into-churches-to-help-save-souls http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/catholics-built-secret-...

LeifCarrotson 9y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Summer_Time#2005.E2.80.932012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Summer_Time#2005.E2.80.... > Until 2005, the start and end of IDT each year was established in an ad hoc fashion as the result of haggling between political parties representing various sectors of Israeli society. Parties representing religious groups wanted the start delayed till after Passover and the end to precede Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, while the secular parties would argue for starting it earlier and ending it later. Sounds like business as usual for a modern 2-party state. What was more interesting to me, as a programmer, was the next line: > In the past, the unpredictability of IDT in Israel became frustrating enough that Microsoft Windows stopped trying to track changes and just made Israeli time be Greenwich Mean Time plus two hours (GMT+2) (and disabled the daylight saving option). This has led to various ad hoc solutions to the problem in Windows systems and other Microsoft software (e.g. Outlook calendar entries are often off by an hour when shared, due to the lack of IDT support). On November 17, 2009, Microsoft released an update that has daylight saving time enabled for Israel. However, the date for transition back to Standard Time is set as the Second Sunday of September, regardless of the Hebrew Calendar date.[4] Windows 7 does contain correct IDT times up to 2023, but not all software makes use of this extra information. OK, I know that I'm supposed to just import my system date/time library for timekeeping functions. Because it's too complicated for mortals like me, while Microsoft, Apple, Google, and other major institutions can handle all the inanities. But Microsoft gave up on this one? Ouch.