新增網頁1

[Sentence Structure] [Scanning] [Skimming] [Idea Map]

Did you know that in one year’s time, there is more than one New Year? What – more than one New year? Doesn’t this idea violate some principle of time or space? Actually, there are many New Year’s within one year’s time. That’s because there are many different calendars used across the world by different peoples.
The lunar calendar has been used by peoples in East Asia for millennia. As its names suggests, it is based upon my different astronomical calculations, such as the phases of the moon and the position of the sun. It sets of 12 years, each year represented by an animal and a pair of characters, one each of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, to identify which year it is in the 60-year cycle. The animals are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit. Dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The most widely recognized form of this calendar is the Chinese calendar, which is called the farmer’s calendar in Taiwan. In Vietnam, the lunar calendar is used, but the rabbit is replaced by the cat. For these countries, New Year’s day falls somewhere between January 21 and February 19 of the Western calendar. It became the year 4703 on February 9. Japan uses a calendar based on Chinese calendar, but which has evolved to use a different method of calculation. Japan celebrates New Year’s Day on January 1.
Of a radically different nature is the Western, or Gregorian, calendar. The Gregorian calendar was created by Pope Gregory XIII in the middle ages, as the older Julian calendar was found to be inaccurate. This is a solar calendar of months of varying lengths, adding up to around 365 days, with a leap day added every four years to correct for the inaccuracy still present in its design. New Year’s Day falls, every year, on January 1. This calendar is also used in most countries to conduct official business as a standard.
The Jewish calendar, a lunar calendar, is based upon calculations reckoning the position and movement of the moon. The length of a year ranges from 353 t0 383 days. Roughly every three years, an extra month is added to the calendar to realign the calendar with the seasons. The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, occurs in the autumn. It is currently the year 5765 according to the Jewish calendar.
The Islamic calendar, a lunar calendar, is different from the above in that it cannot be calculated in advance, but is based upon a human sighting of a crescent moon. The sighting is then announced over the local area. Thus, it is impossible to print a reliable Islamic calendar in advance! Because the Islamic year is only 354 days long, this calendar rotates backwards with regard to the Gregorian calendar. For example, if the Islamic New Year falls on March 15 this year, it might fall on March 2 next year. It is currently the year 1426 according to the Islamic calendar.
So, the existence of multiple calendars is how a single year can contain multiple New Year’s Days. Next time when you see people of different cultures celebrate the New Year at a seemingly odd time, why not join in the fun, and experience a new New Year? (China Post:02/2005)