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How did we end up with the year starting in January? If you've got eight months and they're often named like that - e.g. "oct" for the 8th month - and you decid

by Nition 3y ago

How did we end up with the year starting in January? If you've got eight months and they're often named like that - e.g. "oct" for the 8th month - and you decide to add a couple for the time you're not counting during winter, wouldn't you add them at the end and say the year still starts in March? Or is that exactly what they did and we changed the end-of-year point layer (the article doesn't say)? If so, why did we change it?

throwaway396276 3y ago
https://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start-on-january-1 https://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start... Tldr; There were many changes, with the last change introduced by the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The American colonies didn't adopt it until 1752
- Nition 3y ago
  Thanks, so that does seem to confirm that when the Romans added Jan/Feb, they put them at the beginning of the year right from the start. Unfortunately it still doesn't really have an answer to why they didn't put them at the end, except that it fits with the chosen name (Janus = God of all beginnings. But of course you could name something before or after deciding where to put it).
  - coliveira 3y ago
    For the Romans, the year was a government concept. They counted the years by the administration of a certain official. The change to start in January happened simply because they changed the date of inauguration for the council.
antognini 3y ago
There were different standards in Europe during the middle ages and early modern period. Some places retained a date closer to the Roman New Year around the vernal equinox. These places used the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25). Other places (usually in the north) inherited a date closer to the winter solstice and so they used the Feast of the Circumcision (January 1). As trade between countries grew during the early modern period countries began to standardize on the Feast of the Circumcision. England was a holdout, though and if you look at record from the first half of the 18th century, they will often include both years for dates between Jan 1 and March 25. The British Parliament formally adopted "Circumcision dates" to come into agreement with the continent in 1751. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750

by Nition 3y ago

throwaway396276 3y ago

https://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start-on-january-1 https://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start... Tldr; There were many changes, with the last change introduced by the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The American colonies didn't adopt it until 1752

Nition 3y ago
Thanks, so that does seem to confirm that when the Romans added Jan/Feb, they put them at the beginning of the year right from the start. Unfortunately it still doesn't really have an answer to why they didn't put them at the end, except that it fits with the chosen name (Janus = God of all beginnings. But of course you could name something before or after deciding where to put it).
- coliveira 3y ago
  For the Romans, the year was a government concept. They counted the years by the administration of a certain official. The change to start in January happened simply because they changed the date of inauguration for the council.

antognini 3y ago

There were different standards in Europe during the middle ages and early modern period. Some places retained a date closer to the Roman New Year around the vernal equinox. These places used the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25). Other places (usually in the north) inherited a date closer to the winter solstice and so they used the Feast of the Circumcision (January 1). As trade between countries grew during the early modern period countries began to standardize on the Feast of the Circumcision. England was a holdout, though and if you look at record from the first half of the 18th century, they will often include both years for dates between Jan 1 and March 25. The British Parliament formally adopted "Circumcision dates" to come into agreement with the continent in 1751. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750