3 ms·
> Why? You could also eg pick where earth is closest or farthest from the sun, or at exactly average distance or anything like that. Hard to measure for people
by croes 2y ago
> Why? You could also eg pick where earth is closest or farthest from the sun, or at exactly average distance or anything like that.
Hard to measure for people back then. Solstices and the equinoxes are easier.
> Christmas wasn't invented yet whan Julius Caesar was alive.
Doesn’t necessarily mean that Christmas was invented when the Calendar was fixed. The logic is the other way around. Solstices and the equinoxes are tend to be used as reference for special/holy days. Caesar‘s calendar gave them a certain date
- eru 2y agoWell, you were talking about 'rational' points, not what's easy to measure. The Egyptians picked the appearance of a certain store above the horizon as their fixed point for the year (or something like that). That was rational for them, but doesn't have all that much to do with equinoxes.
- croes 2y agoIt’s rational to use easy to measure points. Your example of the Egyptians is also easy to measure. I guess at that point mythology kicks in. Could explain why the winter solstice is often used: the dark timed are over, the days get brighter.
- eru 2y agoI think the Egyptians cared about the flooding of the Nile, and that often happened around the time when that star showed up. (This is all from memory, please don't quote me on this.)