New Year …New Calendars.
The latest joke going around on the social media is “ Utarli
Kaa ???........Bhinti Varchi Calendar’s….ha ha ha…
As the New Year starts , it’s the start of a new yearly journey
and new beginning for every one of us with the start date set at January 1st
and end date set at December 31st . The 365 days in between for us
to live our life to the fullest and make some of our dreams come true. Some
milestones to achieve , so important events to attend ,have some great time
with our families and overall make some memories.
Every one knows that the English Calendar or The
Gregorian calendar is the most
widely used civil calendar in the world. In 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII
introduced his Gregorian calendar, Europe adhered to the Julian calendar, first
implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. Since the Roman emperor’s system
miscalculated the length of the solar year by 11 minutes, the calendar had
since fallen out of sync with the seasons. This concerned Gregory because it
meant that Easter, traditionally observed on March 21, fell further away from
the spring equinox with each passing year.
The Julian calendar
included an extra day in February every four years. But Aloysus Lilius, the
Italian scientist who developed the system Pope Gregory would unveil in 1582,
realized that the addition of so many days made the calendar slightly too long.
He devised a variation that adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless
the year is also divisible by 100. If the year is also divisible by 400, a leap
day is added regardless. While this formula may sound confusing, it did resolve
the lag created by Caesar’s earlier scheme—almost.
Though Pope Gregory’s
papal bull reforming the calendar had no power beyond the Catholic Church,
Catholic countries—including Spain, Portugal and Italy—swiftly adopted the new
system for their civil affairs. European Protestants, however, largely rejected
the change because of its ties to the papacy, fearing it was an attempt to
silence their movement. It wasn’t until 1700 that Protestant Germany switched
over, and England held out until 1752. Orthodox countries clung to the Julian
calendar until even later, and their national churches have never embraced
Gregory’s reforms.
According
to some accounts, English citizens did not react kindly after an act of
Parliament advanced the calendar overnight from September 2 to September 14,
1752. Rioters supposedly took to the streets, demanding that the government
“give us our 11 days.” However, most historians now believe that these protests
never occurred or were greatly exaggerated. On the other side of the Atlantic,
meanwhile, Benjamin Franklin welcomed the change, writing, “It is pleasant for
an old man to be able to go to bed on September 2, and not have to get up until
September 14.”
Julius
Caesar’s calendar reform of 46 B.C. instituted January 1 as the first of the
year. During the Middle Ages, however, European countries replaced it with days
that carried greater religious significance, such as December 25 (the
anniversary of Jesus’ birth) and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation). The
latter, known as Lady Day because it celebrates the Virgin Mary, marked the
beginning of the year in Britain until January 1, 1752.
New year doesn't begin on January 1 for everyone.It
can vary in different religions and cultures.Among
the variations, there is Chinese New Year which takes place sometime
between January 21 and February 21 each year and includes celebrations in China
and among Chinese communities across the globe.This year 2019 is said to be the
Year of the Pig.Which will be celebrated with gusto and pomp . With Dragon
parades and two of the most famous Chinese food items as part of their traditional
lunch the Jiaozi or the dumplings and Tang Yuan or the glutinous rice balls.
There's
also Islamic New Year, which also has a variable date.In 2019, it will start on
September 10 - the first day of the month of Muharram and the start of Islamic
year 1441.The
Islamic calendar is based on the moon and this means dates move back by 10 or
11 days each year within the longer, sun-based, January-to-December Gregorian
calendar used by most of the Western world.This can make it difficult even for
Muslims themselves to keep track of the dates.
The Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar follows the
cycle of the moon.Hijrah is an Arabic word meaning migration - it refers to the
migration of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, an event that
marks the start of the Islamic calendar.
In 17 AH
(638 AD/CE), Abu Musa Ashaari, one of the officials of the Caliph Umar in Basrah,
complained about the absence of any years on the correspondence he received
from Umar, making it difficult for him to determine which instructions were
most recent. This report convinced Umar of the need to introduce an era for
Muslims. After debating the issue with his counsellors, he decided that the
first year should include the date of Muhammad's arrival at Medina (known as
Yathrib, before Muhammad's arrival). Uthman ibn Affan then suggested
that the months begin with Muharram, in line with the established custom of the
Arabs at that time. The years of the Islamic calendar thus began with the month
of Muharram in the year of Muhammad's arrival at the city of Medina, even
though the actual emigration took place in Safar and Rabi' I. Because
of the Hijra, the calendar was named the Hijri calendar.
The first day of the first month of the Islamic calendar (1
Muharram 1 AH) was set to the first new moon after the day the Prophet moved
from Quba' to Medina (originally 26 Rabi' I on the pre-Islamic calendar)
i.e., Friday, 16 July 622 AD/CE, the equivalent civil tabular date (same
daylight period) in the Julian calendar. The Islamic day began at the
preceding sunset on the evening of 15 July. This Julian date (16 July) was determined
by medieval Muslim astronomers by projecting back in time their
own tabular Islamic calendar, which had alternating 30- and 29-day months
in each lunar year plus eleven leap days every 30 years. For example, al-Biruni
mentioned this Julian date in the year 1000 AD/CE. Although not used by either
medieval Muslim astronomers or modern scholars to determine the Islamic epoch,
the thin crescent moon would have also first become visible (assuming
clouds did not obscure it) shortly after the preceding sunset on the evening of
15 July, 1.5 days after the associated dark moon (astronomical new
moon) on the morning of 14 July.
Four of the twelve
Hijri months are considered sacred: Rajab (7), and the three consecutive months
of Dhū al-Qa‘dah (11), Dhu al-Ḥijjah (12) and Muḥarram (1). As
the lunar calendar lags behind the solar calendar by about ten days every
Gregorian year, months of the Islamic calendar fall in different parts of the
Gregorian calendar each year. The cycle repeats every 33 lunar years. Each month of the Islamic calendar commences on the
birth of the new lunar cycle. Traditionally this is based on actual observation
of the crescent (hilal) marking the end of the previous lunar cycle and hence the
previous month, thereby beginning the new month. Consequently, each month can
have 29 or 30 days depending on the visibility of the moon, astronomical
positioning of the earth and weather conditions. However, certain sects and
groups, most notably Bohras Muslims namely Alavis, Dawoodis and Sulaymanis and Shia Ismaili Muslims, use a tabular Islamic calendar in which
odd-numbered months have thirty days (and also the twelfth month in a leap
year) and even months have 29.
The important
dates like Shab e Barat (or Lailat al Bara'a) , Ramadan
(Ramzan) Eid , Eid Ul Fitr , Moharram and Milad al Nabi (Prophet Mohammed’s
birthday ) are based mostly on astronomical charts and are
adopted by some Muslims, particularly governments that must plan forward for
civic and public occasions.However for a lot of others, a sighting of the
primary crescent of the brand new moon is required to find out when a month or
occasion ought to truly begin so among the dates may change barely nearer the
time.
The boisterous and jovial Sikh’s also have their own
Calendar, “The Nanakshahi calendar” . It was
created to establish fixed dates for observing important Sikh commemorative
events related to the history of the Sikh gurus which took place in ancient Punjab. It includes Birth
(Prakash – The manifestation of Light ), Inaugration as Guru (Guru Gadee –
Enthronement) and Martyrdom or Death (Jyoti Jot – the merging of manifest light
into Divine Light)
Sikhs have
traditionally recognized two eras and luni-solar calendars: the Nanakshahi and
Khalsa. Traditionally, both these calendars closely followed the Bikrami calendar
with the Nanakshahi year beginning on Katak Pooranmashi (full moon) and the Khalsa year
commencing with Vaisakhi. The
methods for calculating the beginning of the Khalsa era were based on the
Bikrami calendar. The year length was also the same as the Bikrami solar year .The
calendar has twelve lunar months that are determined by the lunar phase, but
thirteen months in leap years which occur every 2–3 years in the Bikrami
calendar to sync the lunar calendar with its solar counterpart.References
to the Nanakshahi Era have been made in historic documents .Banda Singh Bahadur
adopted the Nanakshahi calendar in 1710 C.E. after his victory in Sirhind (12 May 1710 C.E.) according to which the
year 1710 C.E. became Nanakshahi 241. However, according to Dilagira (1997), he
"continued adopting the months and the days of the months according to the
Bikrami calendar".Banda Singh Bahadur also minted new coins also
called Nanakshahi.
The
revised Nanakshahi calendar was designed by Pal Singh Purewal to replace
the Bikrami calendar. The epoch of this calendar is the birth of
the first Sikh Guru, Nanak Devin 1469 and the Nanakshahi year
commences on 1 Chet. New Year's Day falls annually on what is
March 14 in the Gregorian Western calendar. The start of each
month is fixed. The solar accuracy of the Nanakshahi calendar is linked to
the Gregorian civil calendar. This is because the Nanaskhahi calendar uses
the tropical year instead of using the sidereal year which is
used in the Bikrami calendar or the old Nanakshahi and Khalsa calendars.
The amended Nanakshahi calendar was adopted in 1998 but implemented in 2003 by
the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee the governing office of Sikhism located in the Punjab to
determine the dates for important Sikh events
and mandating its use The events
and dates of The Nanakshahi calendar entries given may differ by months, or
even years, from original historical records such as the Vikram Samvat (SV), or Bikram
Sambat (BK), calendar based on lunar cycle dating. Some of the names of
the Nanakshahi months are like those of the Hindu Calendar. Like
for example Vaishakh , Jeth , Savan (Shravan) , Bhadho (Bhadrapad), Magh and
Pahgan (Phalgun).
Talking about Hindu Calendars the most famous
one is the Kalnirnay Calmanac. the iconic calendar was born in 1972, originally
in Marathi.Jayant Salgaokar creator and the publisher ,envisioned it as more
than a calendar. Published in nine languages, it performs a multi-pronged role.
It serves most crucially as a panchang, an astrological diary that informs you
about the position of planets and hence, is consulted before selecting
appropriate and auspicious times for important occasions. It lists festivals,
carries a horoscope, recipes, medical advice, and articles written by experts
in their fields, by stalwarts like Durga Bhagwat and PL Deshpande. It also
serves as a reminder for the woman of the house. It even allows you to jot
notes on the number of clothes given to the dhobi or items that have to be
procured for the kitchen. So, essentially, everyone in the home would use it.
As Kalnirnay
enters its 45th year, the thrust is on conquering the digital space. They were
the first in Mumbai to have an online retail website, much like Amazon is doing
today. This was way back in 1995. They shut it down eventually when competition
arrived. They launched an app in 2010, when apps were a new thing. So they have
always been ahead of the times, Right now, they are using the Facebook and
Twitter platforms to figure what their customers want. This is in a testing
phase. Though their core business will always be the printed almanac, they want
to widen their social media imprint to reach their existing customer more
effectively while attracting a new audience. Kalnirnay currently prints 20
million copies of the calendar and the app has 5 million subscribers.
In a new advertisement
released on their YouTube channel, the almanac is no longer the gift given to a
daughter when she is married. Now, it goes with her to Harvard. Kalnirnay is a
tradition that's passed down over generations. But now, they don't just rely on
the institution of marriage. People from all over the world order it every
year. Patel Stores in New York displays it proudly when it gets there at the
start of the year, Shakti Salgaonkar Yezdani grand daughter of late Jayant
Salgaonkar and her young social media
team ensure that it's not just the almanac that reaches out to their audience
but even the writings of literary greats.They go through back issues and pick
interesting archival reads for the new reader. It's about giving them everything
the almanac offers and more.
Recently, the
office of the Prime Minister called Jayraj Salgaonkar son of Jayant Salgaonkar
and the current Managing Director of Kalnirnay and asked, Does Kalnirnay have a Gujarati
version?' He said, yes. 'Is it available on iPad?' He said, no. 'Do you know Mr
Modi reads on the iPad? He won't be happy if he can't read it in Gujarati on
his iPad'. He promptly called his contact in Silicon Valley and got the app
designed in Gujarati.That’s what you call Changing with the Times . As in the famous Bob Dylan song “The Times, They
Are A Changing”.
So this New Year Ring
out the Old and Ring In the New, in your life both metaphorically and in
action.
Wishing all my readers a very Happy New Year
2019 and Happy Reading…..
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