Our crazy calendar

"Whether you are a believer, agnostic or atheist, we all live under the same calendar."

Today is March 26, 2016. Most of us will not even give that a thought. But - did you ever wonder what is in a date? Where in the world did it come from? For starters, we know why there are 365 days in a year (sort of). It is because it takes that long for this blue marble to circle our sun. And how was it determined how many days go in each month? I have no clue.

And the name "March". Where does that come from? From Mars, the god of war. Yes, it goes back that far. In fact, January, March, May and June are all named after Roman gods or goddesses. July and August are named after Caesar's. And the last four months are named after months decending from March. For example, I was born in December. December means "decem" - the 10th month following March.

Now comes the big one. We are in the year 2016 AD. Most all of us know where that comes from. Whether you are a believer, agnostic or atheist, we all live under the same calendar. And this calendar (called the Gregorian Calendar) is based on the life and death of Jesus Christ.  The "A.D." stands for Anno Domini which means "year of our Lord (Christ's birth)".

Our calendar is the one that a good portion of the world uses. It is the standard bearer in the world. It is by far and away the most popular and most used. And we have Pope Gregory to thank for it. Not the start date - that is due to Jesus. But the Pope put structure into this calendar in the year 1582. Thus, our calendar is named after that Pope - Gregorian. 

So the next time you see a date on the calendar, try not to take it for granted. There might be a story behind it. For example, in about a week it will be April. And April is named after "aperire", which means "open", as when the leaves open. I can't wait.