When was years invented

This was pretty accurate, but made a year on average 11 minutes and 14 seconds too long. This little glitch wouldn't be dealt with until That's the year that the Gregorian calendar also known as the Western or Christian calendar started finally being used.

That minute glitch in the Julian calendar created a problem with Easter. It was supposed to be celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, or March 21st. By Merrill Fabry. Related Stories. America Needs to Get Back to Facts. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. Need help? Visit our Help Center. May Maius Probably named after the goddess Maia. June Junius Probably named after the goddess Juno. Prior to that time its name was Quintilis from the word quintus, fifth, because it was the 5th month in the old Roman calendar.

August Augustus Named after emperor Augustus in 8 B. Prior to that time the name was Sextilis from the word sextus, sixth, because it was the 6th month in the old Roman calendar.

September September From the word septem, seven, because it was the 7th month in the old Roman calendar. October October From the word octo, eight, because it was the 8th month in the old Roman calendar. November November From the word novem, nine, because it was the 9th month in the old Roman calendar. December December From the word decem, ten, because it was the 10th month in the old Roman calendar. There are quite a few theories about this.

And many of the theories are presented as if they were indisputable historical fact. The following are two theories that tend to be more accepted:.

If you combine these numbers you reach a birthyear for Jesus that is strikingly close to the beginning of our year reckoning.

In the Julian calendar, the dates for Easter repeat every years. Is it a coincidence that the number appears twice here? The concept of a year "zero" is a modern myth but a very popular one. In our calendar, C. The table below shows when the calendar reform occurred in some countries, including the first and the last. Note: The list only includes countries that officially used the Julian calendar before the Gregorian calendar was introduced; countries that switched from a different calendar system to the Gregorian calendar, such as Saudi Arabia in , are excluded.

In some cases, it shows a simplified version of events. Each country is listed by its current name, although its official name may have changed since the calendar reform.

The delay in switching meant that countries followed different calendar systems for a number of years, resulting in differing leap year rules. In the Gregorian calendar, most years that are evently divisible by are common years, but they are leap years in the Julian calendar. This meant that the years , , and were leap years in countries still using the Julian calendar at the time e. Two days were added to February , creating February 30, after the leap day in had erroneously been dropped, and the calendar was not synchronized with either the Julian or the Gregorian system.

By adding an extra leap day in , they were back on the Julian calendar.