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Show I t Relic of j Saxon I Days I (iS), 19--. Western Newspaper Vnlcn.) THE "ew Year begins precisely at I midnight, and almost everyone now-1 adnys sees the New Year in by general festivities and many good resolutions, which are. promptly forgotten on January Jan-uary 2. The festivities marking this occasion, says Hereward Carringtou, scientist and author, are very ancient, and in old Saxon days it was the custom to partake of a bowl of spiced ale, which was passed around with the expression "Wasshael." which meant "to your health '" Hence the origin of the Wassail, Was-sail, or AVassel howl. Y"e now keep New Year on January the first; but the Chinese. Jews, Turks nnd many ethers do not observe it on this day. Even Christian countries have not always so observed it ; the Romans bgan the year with the March equinox. The later Teutonic nations for a long time continued counting the beginning of the year from March 25. Jt was only in 1563, by an edict of Charles IX, that France changed the time of the beginning of the year to January 1. In 1600 Scotland made the same change, and England only did so in 1752. when the Gregorian system was adopted there. It will thus be seen that the New Year, observed ob-served on January 1. is relatively new. though we are accustomed to think that it dates back from time immemorial. im-memorial. It was Julius Caesar, in the yeaT 46 B. C, who first reformed the calendar calen-dar aided by the Egy ptian astronomei Sosigenes. He made it a few minute; l too long, and a second correction was necessary. Tope Gregory made cer- j tain changes in 15S2, A. D., and ad- i ditional minor changes were made latei on, from the "old style" to the "new style" calendar." We now employ the i rew style. i After the French revolution France 1 decided to set up an entirely new or- j cer of things. A new calendar was j made. The Christian era was wiped j out, and was replaced by the new j French era, beginning September 22. 1702. Instead of our week of seven j days, a week of ten days was estab-1 l!hed in accordance with the decimal j j-ystera the tenth day being set aside for rest. Instead of the mythological names of the months, others deduced from the prevailing seasons of the year wrrt Fubstitutr d. j Everything was to be based uron reason! The Notre Dame was con-I verted into a "Temple ,of Reason." j Mme. Momero, the young and beautiful wife of a Jacobin printer, was chosen to represent "Reason." And so It went. The months were chosen and given French names which were thought tn be characteristic of them. Thus, autumn had a vintage month, a focgy rmnth end a sleety month. Winter, a snowy month, a rainy month and a windy month. Spring, a bud'dna month, a flowery month and a past .re month. Summer, a harvest, month, a hot month and a fruit monih. Erich month iKL'an somewhere between be-tween the ISth and the 22nd according accord-ing to our rertonln-. Thus the first month of the HUtumn trio bepnn en September 22, and la.tod until October Oc-tober 21, etc. With the restoration of a stable cove mm frit in France, this calendar was repealed, nnd the usual one substitute'!. sub-stitute'!. P.ut for a time, as we have f'-n. New Year day did not hegin on January 1, In France so ltvte as the Inst ct,tury, and It does jiot bec'n on that date in n-'n-Chrlsrjan countries coun-tries even today! |