Sunday, August 27, 2023

Or Don't Recycle Them, After All


Recycle calendars · Or Don't Recycle Them, After All · No leap years on Mondays between 1872 and 1912?

I was just reflecting that, even if dates match up with weekdays, they need not match up with phases of the Moon, same way in 2024 as in 1968.

However, I considered - most people are not all that fidgety about phases of the Moon. While the calendar may print those circles that are blank or filled with black, or cut into semicircles with the right or left one black, on the wrong dates for the actual phases of the Moon, most people don't care.

But then I reflected "w a i t" ... "they do: Easter"

Easter Lord's Day back in 1968 was April 14. Easter next year will be on March 31. So, as calendars don't just mark Sundays, but specifically Easter and Pentecost among the other ones, two years need more to match than just the Sunday letters G,F (a k a "leap year starting on a Monday"). Otherwise, you can't use one's calendar for the other.

Like this year, Easter was on April 9 and back in 1967 on March 26. We are in fact 13th Sunday after Pentecost, but with a 1967 calendar, it would appear as 15th Sunday after Pentecost which is not really the case yet.

So, use the calendars that are meant for the year! Or reuse much older ones, if you can get them. Easter in 1996 (also a G,F year) was April 7th ... what about 1940? No. In fact, in 1940, Easter was on March 24, exceptionally early. So, 1912? No, April 7. Previous leap year starting on a Monday was 1872 ... and yes, it also had Easter on March 31 - like next year.

For Tolkien fans, there is another reason to not reuse a calendar from 1968 - there is no Tolkien calendar from back that year. As also not from 1872, though an art calendar from Sarehole that year might look more Shireish than one from 1968 ...

The first printing of a Tolkien calendar was in 1968 (why am I not surprised), and was thus for the year 1969. It was a question of fan art.

The first official Tolkien calendar by Ballantine's (his US publishers) was printed in 1972 and issued for 1973 - the year in which he died.

Speaking of these:
Tolkien Calendar 2024
Brand: HarperCollins, Illustrated by Alan Lee
https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Calendar-2024/dp/0008597669


Or try to make your own art calendar ... one suggestion I have made where I live is, make one with quotations (with URL to quoted blog post) from me ... if you wish to help me get known ... (try to make the calligraphy better than I would succeed with). Here is how the first table of days and week days should look:

January
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
GABCDEF
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031


Hans Georg Lundahl
Paris
13th Lord's Day after Pentecost
27.VIII.2023