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Anno Domini (Year of Christ)
By admin | December 16, 2008
After the Romans embraced Christianity, they kept using Julian calendar for more than 5 centuries. During that time, it use was even more spread among the nations of Europe. In the year of 572 Julian, a high Papacy official in Rome, Dionysius Exiguous, set year calculation of Anno Domini (”Year of the Lord”). It was based on Dionysius’s estimation that Jesus Christ was born in year 47 Julian. Then the year 47 Julian was then defined as 1st year of Anno Domini (AD), and the year number of 572 Julian was then replaced with a 526 AD. So, since year of 526 AD, the counted of Anno Domini (AD) has been taken place until now. We call this year ‘CE’.
Both of Christian calendar and Julian calendar use a benchmark of 365.25 days (365 days 6 hours) per year with a leap year in every four years. It is defined as year number which can be divided by four. This calculation caused the benchmark is actually over in about 11 minutes and 14 seconds (0.0078 days) that it should be. As a result, there is an year error which occurs once in every 128 years, or three days in 400 years. Roger Bacon, a scientist from Britain, in 1270 year, proposed to revise Julian calendar to Pope Clements IV. But his proposal was ignored. Then in 1475, Pope Sixtus IV invited a German stargazer, Regiomontanus, to correct the calendar. Unfortunately, when he arrived in Rome, he was died. So the improvement could not be happened.
In year 1582, the error had reached ten days. When the sun crossed the equator or early spring (Vernal Equinox) fell on 11 March, it should fell on March 21, Pope Gregory XIII made a decision entitled Calendarium Gregorianum. Date number was leaped to ten days. Then, Thursday 4 October 1582 must suddenly be followed by Friday 15th October 1582. In order to minimize such errors in the future, three of four centesimal (year of transition century), which usually a leap years, is then defined as ordinary years. So leap in 1600; 1700, 1800 and 1900 is defined as not a leap years but normal years; the leap year occurred again in 2000, and so on. In fact, this Gregorian system is quite accurate; it only the excess 0.0003 day per year. To achieve the one day error it will take 3,333 years. Thus, the Gregorian calendar will need to be revised in the 50th century!
At first, Pope’s decision to change the calendar was only followed by the European Catholics countries. This also caused uproar among the public. Many people feared their age will be reduced ten days, while workers demanded wages for ten days –which was considered as lost days. The Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox countries still used Julian calendar. They thought that Pope’s decision was only a tactic to restore Papacy’s authority in the religious affairs.
It is interesting that the Gregorian calendar had well-greeted by Caliph Mohammed IV of Ottoman Turkey, who started to use Gregorian calendar in entire Islam’s region of Balkan Peninsula since 1677 (1088 Hijriyya, the Islamic Calendar). However, the Caliphate’s official almanac was still the Hijriyya calendar, Islamic Calendar.
Close to the end of the 17th century, in the year 1698, a German dignified scientist, Dr. Erhard Weigel, sent letters to the European Protestant Kings. Through the letters, he asked them to receive the Gregorian calendar. Weigel asserted that using the calendar was not purposed as subject to the Pope. This was about the accuracy of sky objects movements, not religious problems, said Weigel.
So, in the early 18th century, Protestant countries received the Gregorian calendar. English, an Anglican country, followed this in 1752; by defined that 2nd September 1752 was immediately followed by 14th September 1752. This was also applied in all British colonies, including North America (Canada and the United States now). As a result, George Washington, which later became the first president of the United States, forced to change his birth date of 11th February 1732 to 22nd February 1732.
Eastern European countries that embrace Orthodox Christians accepted the Gregorian calendar after the World War I ended. Russia began to use it in 1918, by defining January 31 was directly followed with February 13. Day of Russian imperial elimination, which took place on 7th November 1917, until now is still called “October Revolution”. It is because in that day, Russia was still use Julian calendar date of 25 October. Last European country that received Gregorian calendar was Greece in 1923.
However, Julian calendar is still used by Orthodox Church to determine the special Christmas Day. Until now, they celebrate Christmas on 7 January (December 25 according to Julian calendar), two weeks slowly than other Christians sects.
In Asian, African, and Latin American countries, the spread of Gregorian calendar was done by European countries that colonize them. In Indonesia, until the early of 20th century, many Kingdoms still used Hijriyya calendar, the Islamic Calendar. Even the Hindu King of Karangasem, Ratu Agung Ngurah, in his letters to the Christian Governor-General of Netherland East Indies, Otto van Rees, in 1894, used the 1313 Hijriyah. Gregorian calendar is officially used in all of Indonesian region since 1910 with the validity of Wet op het Nederlandsch onderdaanschap, a law that uniformed the people of Netherland East Indies. So, Octavian Augustus’s intention to immortalize his name had achieved. The Name of this Roman Emperor is always spoken by hundreds of millions of Indonesian people each year, when they celebrate the proclamation of Independence Day.
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