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The year of the Cosmos 7518

I guess this post was inspired by this one from Ele where she discusses whether or not today begins a new decade.

Its all a bit moot as far as I'm concerned - New Years day is an arbitrary point of reference which has not been consistent through the ages or places varying even within Christendom itself.

As a rhetorical device I left a comment on Ele's post asking if anybody knew why March 25th was New Years Day in the England speaking world until 1752.

The answer to that question is the Feast of the Annunciation falls on that date, exactly 9 months before Christmas day. So the year by that reckoning began with the Conception of Christ.

Other Nations in Europe used different days and different eras.

In much of Eastern Europe the Έτος Κόσμου (Etos Kosmou) system was used until the eighteenth century, in which the years are numbered not from the birth of Christ but from the Creation itself, reckoned according to the Julian Calendar. In Latin this is called the Anno Mundi system. According to the calculations of the Byzantines, the first act creation took place September 1, 5509 BC as reckoned by the Julian Calendar and using the Anno Domini system for numbering years.

Thus today is December 19th 7518 Anno Mundi with nothing particularly special to mark at all. But we all could celebrate the start of 7519 starting from 12:00 AM September 14th 2010 AD.

But don't let any of this interfere with how you enjoy today regardless of how you view the decadal significance it or lack thereof.

Comments

  1. Today's also a Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. Not a Holy Day of Obligation, as it's been moved to Sunday, but we're off to the city for Mass anyway.

    Good way to start the year of 2010.

    ReplyDelete
  2. January the 1st is Feast of the Circumcision of Christ in our tradition.

    Here is a partial list for todays commemorations

    The Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ;
    St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesaria in Cappadocia.
    Martyr Basil of Ancyra.
    St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe in North Africa.
    Martyr Theodotus.
    St. Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus and father of St. Gregory the Theologian.
    St. Theodosius of Tryglia, abbot. New-martyr Peter of the Peloponnesus.
    New-Martyr Bishop Platon of Revel, Estonia, and with him priests Michael and Nicholas (1919).

    ReplyDelete

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