14 September 10

As I posted last year, September 14, 1752, marked the eleven-day adjustment to the calendar in England and the American colonies, finalizing the shift from the "Julian" to the "Gregorian" calendars. The loss of eleven days overnight (skipping from September "2" to September "14") was actually the last of several steps:

"In 1750, an Act of Parliament finally resolved the adoption of the Gregorian calendar for England and its colonies, thereby streamlining the calendar system in Europe entirely. England’s adjustment, though, was more confusing than the original Julian to Gregorian change over. In 1752, England had to greatly modify its calendar in the following ways:

• December 31, 1750 was followed by January 1, 1750 seemingly going back in time. January 1 was also set as New Years Day with this calendar.
• March 24, 1750 was followed by March 25, 1751 to match up with the rest of Europe’s current year.
• December 31, 1751 was followed by January 1, 1752
• Finally, September 2, 1752 was followed by September 14, 1752, taking eleven days from the month.

The result was a streamlined, consistent calendar for all of Europe and the colonies in the New World. However, today’s historians are left with the interesting notation of two years for dates in the years preceding 1752. What may be confused by some as an uncertainty in dates is actually a compensation for England’s slow response to the transition from the Julian to Gregorian calendars." (from The Calendar Change of 1752 on Suite101.com)

The arithmetic may work out, but the conceptual difficulty of having two separate periods of time designated as January 1-March 24, 1750 is insurmountable to me in 2010. I am also wondering how the "day-counters" who seek to establish precise times for events in Revelation, or correlations with the Mayan calendar, deal with these issues.

Definitely time to sing some Silly Songs.