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Essorant
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since 2002-08-10
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Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada

0 posted 2002-12-19 01:24 AM


I think we should rename this whole month and call it Christmas.  We as a culture for the most part celebrate Christmas all month any way.  For a month that celebrates Christ's birth and is very symbolic and festive, it deserves a name that is dedicated to those things as well, instead of just indicates decem "10" which is not even the number of the month!
What do you think?
Or rename it to Duodecember so that it means "12" instead of "10" and october to december and november to undecember?  
But I think more the last three months deserve character in their names like the other months as well.  Not just number, which no longer correspond .


[This message has been edited by Essorant (12-19-2002 02:03 AM).]

© Copyright 2002 Essorant - All Rights Reserved
Stephanos
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1 posted 2002-12-19 02:01 AM


Essorant,

Give a try!  Start writing it on your checks and post-cards and see if catches on!  LOL.

Stephen.

Christmas 19th 2002.


Local Parasite
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2 posted 2002-12-19 02:41 AM


Some friends of mine and I once tried to revise the entire system of years, to make it completely metric.  10 days in a month, 10 months in a year.  We even renamed the months after ourselves... like Trevorwary, Oc-Tim-ber, Joe-ly... we even renamed March "Let's Roll."

Those were the days...

winston
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since 2002-12-19
Posts 204
NW of Eden
3 posted 2002-12-19 09:43 AM


Hi am new here. I just wanna say that I see the philosophical merits of what you are saying.


Essorant
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since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769
Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada
4 posted 2002-12-19 10:55 AM


Thank you for your openmindness.  
I will seek the cheif authorities about the changes and see if I cannot have december changed to "Christmas".  That confederation of fools who named a month after Juno and decided to take out the "o" and put an "e", and have no month named after her husband the King of Gods as well?  And decided that we should keep the last four months named "7, 8, 9, 10".  Also I've always dislked the "B.C" in history.  Making the time before Christ backwards makes no sense to me, so I will get that removed as well while I'm over there in the editing room.  
In sum the changes I will make are as follows:
-June will be Juno
-September will be called Stephanos
-November will be called Jovember
-December will be called Christmas
-the millienium and the birth of Christ will be the right numbers relative to the beginning of written history.
-Also, birthdays will be celebrated monthly instead of just yearly! (for ex.  If you were born on the 24th, your birthday would be on the 24th of every month...)

Do you have any suggestions for October??

  


[This message has been edited by Essorant (12-19-2002 02:06 PM).]

Christopher
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5 posted 2002-12-19 11:11 AM


why even bother naming the months anyway? let's just cancel out the naming, period, and go by day? today is, what, 343?


Essorant
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since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769
Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada
6 posted 2002-12-19 11:49 AM


Christopher,

That is not the number of the day, 708 is.

I think

[This message has been edited by Essorant (12-19-2002 11:50 AM).]

Christopher
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7 posted 2002-12-19 12:54 PM


you have a lot more days in your year than i do mine!

actually, we can do away with the years too (would have to base our dates on the AD method, since we would never be able to agree on a beginning prior to that), and just go with a complete number system. so today would be - 731,208.

Local Parasite
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8 posted 2002-12-19 01:47 PM


Calendar years are useful, though.  It's an organization based on the revolution of the earth around the sun... which helps us predict what kind of weather we'll be having based on the month that it is.  Of course meteorology can do the same thing, but if there's no yearly events like winter solstice, how are we going to measure these things realistically?  Can we really remember that it just plain happens every 365 odd days?

And how do you want to measure age, Christopher?  You want us to remember how many days old we are or what?

And birthdays... we'd be done away with birthdays altogether.

hush
Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653
Ohio, USA
9 posted 2002-12-20 07:58 PM


Uh, no... you have to rename December Winter Festival... duh!
Essorant
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since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769
Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada
10 posted 2002-12-20 08:17 PM


But it is not winter in every place that is celebrating christmas!  
Stephanos
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11 posted 2002-12-20 10:57 PM


Essey,

September as Stephanos eh? ....  hmmm.  I could get used to it.  lol.


Interestingly enough, I was born in September.



Stephen.

hush
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since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653
Ohio, USA
12 posted 2002-12-21 12:25 PM


Stephan-

What's the -os for, anyway?

Christopher
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13 posted 2002-12-21 01:59 AM


quote:
And how do you want to measure age, Christopher?  You want us to remember how many days old we are or what?
From my observations, by the time you're old enough to start worrying about how old you are, it wouldn't matter if it were years, days, or minutes - you don't want to hear about any of them!

Not A Poet
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since 1999-11-03
Posts 3885
Oklahoma, USA
14 posted 2002-12-23 03:38 PM


Beam me up, Scotty.


Sudhir Iyer
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since 2000-04-26
Posts 6943
Mumbai, India : now in Belgium
15 posted 2002-12-24 03:52 AM


From what I have been told... in olden days there used to be a year made of 10 months...

It was all quite perfect until Augustus thought (or approved his follower's suggestion) that their should be a month named after him.. and hence the month August was created...

Julius Caesar who came after Augustus, thought if Augustus was great enough for a place in the yearly calendar, so was he... and hence created July. The month was placed before August, since Julius thought he was greater than Augustus and hence should have his name before Augustus... and also the same no. of days if not more... so the no. of days in different months were manipulated so the two months had 31 days each...

Also, I have so heard and understood that 25th December was so chosen to celebrate because it marked the beginning of lengthening of the day... now, this fits because most (or all) Christians used to live in Europe, where the effect of short and long days was literal... and dependant on the time of sunrise and sunset...

With the spread of christianity, principly because of migration to places like the Americas and Australasia, the winter months, the summer months, the lengthening or shortening effects lost effect, but the celebration of the day remained... The b-day of Jesus happened to be on the particular day and hence there was a second cause for celebration...

Today, Christmas is probably one of the biggest marketing stunts other than perhaps Valentine's day (which is said to mark the birthday of St. Valentine)...

Well, most of all this is collected from stories I have heard, so feel free to correct me.

Cheers,
Sudhir
P.S. while you/we are at it, why don't you/we think of a way to rename the weekdays (and why only 7?)
P.P.S. I believe that the no. of days in a year are based on the solar cycle and that in a week are all based on lunar cycle.. right?

[This message has been edited by Sudhir Iyer (12-24-2002 03:54 AM).]

aaron woodside
Member
since 2001-09-26
Posts 256

16 posted 2002-12-24 04:36 AM


Whoa!!  lol I'm pretty sure Julius Ceasar came before Augustus.  Augustus is the name Octavian took after succeding Julius I believe.  

There are no great men, only men in great circumstances.

aaron woodside
Member
since 2001-09-26
Posts 256

17 posted 2002-12-24 04:40 AM


Ohh and a side note, Christmas is in december because that's when the Romans celebrated Saturnalia.  This holiday was for the changing of the seasons.  When Constantine converted to Christianity, he took an existing holiday and converted it into a Christian one.  Have to love Christians, they cannibalized most everything from other previous religions.  But hey, I'm Christian too.

I have heard that Jesus' actual birthday was sometime in March or so.  Can't verify that as I'm not sure where I heard it.

ex animo,
Aaron Woodside

There are no great men, only men in great circumstances.

Sudhir Iyer
Member Ascendant
since 2000-04-26
Posts 6943
Mumbai, India : now in Belgium
18 posted 2002-12-24 05:24 AM


Aaron, maybe then what I understood is wrong... Julius got his month first and since augustus followed him, his name also followed... whatever, I should learn to do some research before opening my mouth... but then, I have become too lazy to care, it is Xmas time...

Thanks for helping open one of my eyes,
Sudhir

aaron woodside
Member
since 2001-09-26
Posts 256

19 posted 2002-12-24 01:33 PM


Hey no problem, you just happened to stumble upon my specialty.  I'm pretty interested in ancient Egyptian and Roman history.  If either of these two civilizations had survived the world would be mighty different.

ex animo,
Aaron Woodside

There are no great men, only men in great circumstances.

Kosetsu
Member
since 2001-03-10
Posts 450
Alabama, USA
20 posted 2003-01-04 02:39 AM


It actually wasn't uncommon for Christianity to annex various religious holy days of other religions. Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and a few others that slip my mind were all holidays related to various other religions. Christmas, for example, corresponds to the fact that a large number of religions held their holiday season then, near the Winter Solstice. I guess they figured they could get more people to convert if they told them that they shared the same holidays.

Also, I think I read somewhere that the actual time of Jesus' birth would have been in the spring to early summer. March sounds good enough. I think they determined this due to the fact that there were herders in the field to protect the new borns.

-Adam

Stephanos
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Statesboro, GA, USA
21 posted 2003-01-04 11:55 PM


Hush,

Sorry so late, I missed your question.


Stephanos is simply the Greek version of my name.   It means "Crown".  Interestingly my wife's name is Laurie, which means "Crown of Laurel leaves".  

Can I ask a question?  Why "Hush"?  

Stephen.

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