Proposed calendar reforms

Report on Calendar Reform

We hereby submit this report to the nations and churches of the world. Our findings are as follows:

Months

The actual length of a month is 28 days. That means there are approximately 13 months in a year. 28 x 13 = 364, or one day short of a year. The ancient custom of only counting 12 months in a year needs to be abandoned.

We propose the following names for the months, taken from Attic Greek, with abbreviations:

1. Hekatombaion - Ἑκατομβαιών - Hek (Begins on Winter Solstice.)
2. Metageitnion - Μεταγειτνιών - Met
3. Boedromion - Βοηδρομιών - Boe
4. Pyanepsion - Πυανεψιών - Pya
5. Maimakterion - Μαιμακτηριών - Mai
6. Eukleios - Εύκλειος (Corinthian) (was Ποσειδεών, or Poseideon) - Euk
7. Gamelion - Γαμηλιών - Gam
8. Anthesterion - Ἀνθεστηριών - Anth
9. Elaphebolion - Ἑλαφηβολιών - Ela
10. Mounichion - Μουνιχιών - Mou
11. Thargelion - Θαργηλιών - Thar
12. Skirophorion – Σκιροφοριών - Skir
13. Panamos - Πάναμος - Pan (the intercalary month, with one day added as needed to make the months coincide with most years.) (The last two weeks of the month are to be devoted to the Solstice Festival, Christmas, Hannukah, or other festivals.)

We propose the Winter Solstice (now on December 21) to be the beginning o the year.

For the four seasons

1. Thallo Θαλλώ (or Eiar Spring)
2. Auxo Αὐξώ (or Theros Summer)
3. Karpo Καρπώ (or Phthinoporon Autumn)
4. Cheimon Хειμών (Winter)

The solstices and equinoxes actually fall in the middle of their seasons, so Cheimon (Winter) is the two months before and two months after the Winter Solstice.

Days of the week, from ancient Hebrew. Each name is preceded by “yom”:

1. Sunday - Rishon ( יום ראשון )
2. Monday - Sheni ( יום שני )
3. Tuesday - Shlishi (יום שלישי )
4. Wednesday - Revi'i ( יום רביעי )
5. Thursday - Chamishi ( יום חמישי )
6. Friday - Shishi ( יום שישי )
7. Saturday - Shabbat ( שבת ) – day of rest)

The week begins with Rishon, at the hour of midnight.

Adjustment of days. We have already reported on the number of days to be added to the present calendar to make our present calendar coincide with the ancient Julian calendar. This adjustment will be made, if it has not already been made, during the last month. Astronomers will advise us of further adjustments that may need to be made.

We realize the month naming is taken from the Greek custom, and days from Hebrew, rather than the Roman or Norse, but regard that as a reasonable compromise.

Hours There shall be 24 hours in a day, which begin at midnight. Each hour has 60 minutes, and each minute 60 seconds, following the Persian tradition. An hour is to be written as hh:mm:ss, and the numbers spoken as numbers.

Latitude and longitude. Longitude shall be set at zero for Greenwich, England, and degrees counted eastward back to zero. Latitude shall be set at zero degrees at the equator, and proceed 90^o north to the north spin axis, and 90^o to the south spin axis. It shall be written as nnn:dd (N or S)