Why is it 2011? (or) Why New Years is Not Simply Secular

ArchdioceseofWashington.org ^ | December 31, 2010 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Salvation]

Video embedded at the site http://blog.adw.org/

[Salvation]

and described 1787 as the year of “our” Lord.

Founders' Bump!

[Salvation]

My favorite chapter and verse about time:

Ecclesiastes
Chapter 3

1

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

2

A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

3

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to tear down, and a time to build.

4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn,

and a time to dance.

5

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;

a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

6

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

7

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

8

A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

[sayuncledave]

Another excellent column by Monsignor Pope. Thank you Salvation.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

There are countless people in the atheist, leftist, and jihadi world who hate it that way! If they had a chance, they would change the calendar so it was not from the birth of Christ.

[Salvation]

There's more here;

Anno Domini—The Significance of New Years

[Tax-chick]

My priest friend in Ethiopia says it’s 2003 there. 2004 will begin on September 1, which is not the same day we call September 1 here in the US. Very strange ...

[puppypusher]

New year’s Day is as secular as a Holliday can be.What is there religious about it?Maybe I’m missing something.

[Salvation]

I guess it’s strange!

[Salvation]

Go back and read it again.

References to Christ

Reference to the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America.

[James C. Bennett]

The calendar’s also mixed in with Norse / Roman mythology - every single day, in fact:

Sunday - Sun’s Day

Monday - Moon’s Day

Tuesday - Tiw’s Day (Norse god of combat)

Wednesday - Woden’s Day (Norse god of souls)

Thursday - Thor’s Day (Norse god of thunder)

Friday - Fríge’s Day (Norse goddess of love)

Saturday - Saturn’s Day (Roman god of harvest)

[Salvation]

I’ve never heard that before. Hmmmmmm

But we could also say in Spanish

lunes - Monday

martes - Tuesday

miércoles - Wednesday

jueves - Thursday

viernes - Friday

sábado - Saturday

domingo - Sunday

[Tax-chick]

Lunes is “Moon day”
Martes is “Mars day,” the Roman war god
Miercoles is “Mercury”
Jueves is “Jove’s Day,” the Roman father-god
Viernes is “Venus”
Sabado is “Sabbath”
Domingo is “Lord’s Day.”

It’s interesting how the Roman pantheon names for the weekdays kind of match up with the Nordic connections of the English names.

[Salvation]

Thanks, I knew you would translate for me. I knew luna, Mercury and Venus though along with sabado and domingo

[James C. Bennett]

Both borrow from the much older ancient Indo-European mythologies.

Cronos will be able to elaborate on it better than me...

[Tax-chick]

I had to look up Mercury and Venus. And I always get Jueves and Viernes mixed up and have to list the days from Lunes to be sure I’m telling the choir we’ll practice on Friday!

[paudio]

My favorite verse is slightly after yours, the eleventh verse:

He has made everything beautiful in its time

[Salvation]

That would have been a good one for me to include. Thanks.

[Cronos]

Unfortunately, the names of the week in English are completely unlike the days of the week in French or Hindi or German or Polish. Individual days in English are, yes, derived from older Indo-European mythologies like Tew, Thor, Indra for Tuesday (however it is Mardi, Mangalwar, Dienstag, Wtorek in French, Hindi, German, Polish respectively — I’ve not seen any real commonality across the Indo-European world myself)

[dr_lew]

"History" is from the greek "historia", meaning "researches" or "inquiry", and gained its current meaning from the work of Herodotus by that name.