The 21st century entered its 25th year on Wednesday. The day changed, the month and year also changed and the date in the calendar became 1 January 2025. There was an atmosphere of celebration all over the world on this occasion. People congratulated and wished each other and also wished for progress in the coming year. Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also wished for the New Year at the BJP headquarters, but his style of statement has attracted everyone’s attention.
Understand the meaning of Sudhanshu Trivedi’s New Year greetings
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi congratulated on the occasion of New Year on January 1 in a very unique way. His way of wishing Happy New Year was so unique that the video went viral as soon as it was seen. Sudhanshu Trivedi said in a press conference at BJP headquarters that friends, today is January 1. I would like to congratulate all of you that in the name of the Roman god Janus, originally propounded by the Roman king Numa Memphalus, introduced by Julius Caesar and corrected by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and adopted by the British in 1752, Congratulations to all of you on the first day of the English New Year.
What is the complete history of the calendar?
The lines in which Sudhanshu Trivedi has congratulated for the New Year are actually the entire history of this Gregorian calendar which tells that the task of fixing the day and date has not been so easy that the calendar changed and the date changed. . From time to time its flaws came to light, they were removed and only then it could be adopted. Even today, the days of all 12 months in the Gregorian calendar are not the same. In this, one month is of 31 days and the next is of 30 days, in February the number of days is even less. It has been blessed with only 28 days. Every four years February is extended by one day. Then it becomes a month of 29 days and it is called leap year.
Let us know the complete history of that calendar which has been adopted for work almost all over the world.
Janus, god of the past and future in Roman
Janus is a famous god in ancient Roman religion and mythology. By the way, his real name is Ianus, because there was never a J character in ancient Roman, when the scripts changed and 26 English characters were adopted from Latin, then this ‘Ianus was changed to Janus or Janus or Janus’. In Roman myths this god is also called the god of ends and beginnings. This deity itself is present, but it has two faces which are in opposite directions from each other. In ancient Roman myths, one side of its face is shown as dark, and the other side is shown as white. In many photographs, a thick beard will be seen growing on one side of the face while the other face will appear young. Both these images are from past and future. The past is shown through a dark and thick beard, while the future is shown as young and fair.
Roman king Numa Pompilius named January after the god Janus.
This god of Roman myths is the initial month of the calendar. The first month of the Gregorian calendar, January, has been named after this. The Roman king Numa Pompilius reformed the calendar in 713 BC and declared January the first month of the year. He dedicated it to Janus because Janus was the god of change and time.
January is the month of Janus.
Considering January as the month of beginning, it has been called the month of Janus. This month is considered to be the month of new plans, resolutions and change, which also brings forward the characteristics of Janus. Like the two faces of Janus, January is the month connecting the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. It looks both ways. Janus was worshiped on the first day of January in ancient Rome. Through this puja, prayers were offered for the auspicious beginning of the new year. There were 12 altars built in the temple of Janus. The Roman king had divided the year into 12 months on the basis of these 12 altars.
Also read: ‘In the name of Roman god Janus…’, BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi gave such New Year greetings, video went viral
Numa Pompilius, second king of ancient Rome
Numa Pompilius – Numa Pompilius, named by Sudhanshu Trivedi, was the second king of ancient Rome and is seen as a peace-loving and religious reformer in the early history of the Roman Empire. Numa is also known as the successor of King Romulus, the founder of Rome, and his reign is believed to be from approximately 715 BC to 673 BC.
Numa Pompilius improved the calendar
Numa Pompilius, born in the Sabine tribe, was a simple, humble and religious person. When Numa was elected king after Romulus, he emphasized on peace and religion, unlike the war-loving Romulus. Roman historians say that Numa’s reign is famous for peace and religious reforms. Apart from this, Numa established many religious institutions and traditions in Rome. The greatest work that Numa did was to organize the Roman calendar. He added 12 lunar months to the year and included the months of January (Janus) and February (Februa). This reform made the Roman calendar more accurate and determined religious festivals.
In fact, before Numa Pompilius, the Roman calendar, though simple, was not practical. This calendar was created by King Romulus, the founder of Rome. It was called Romulan Calendar which was full of flaws even at that time. At that time there were only 10 months in the year.
It was a year of 304 days, and the remaining 61 days were not counted in the calendar. These 61 days fell during winter and were considered uncertain and unorganized.
The names of the 10 months and their lengths were as follows:
Martius – 31 days
Aprilis – 30 days
Maius – 31 days
Junius – 30 days
Quintilis – 31 days
Sextilis – 30 days
September – 30 days
October – 31 days
November – 30 days
December – 30 days
The first month was Martius, named after Mars, the god of war.
Winter season was not included in the ancient calendar
The winter months (January and February) were not included in the calendar. These months were considered “outside of time”, as they were unimportant for agricultural and military activities, but because the total time of the year did not match the solar year (365.25 days). The remaining 61 days were “timeless”, causing disorganized social and religious activities.
How were the months changed?
Roman society was also based on agriculture, but this calendar did not accurately reflect farming and seasonal changes. This calendar matched neither the lunar year (354 days) nor the solar year (365.25 days). Numa divided the 61 days of winter into two new months, January (Januarius) and February (Februarius). This made the calendar 12 months and approximately 355 days. Numa tried to bring the calendar closer to the cycles of the moon. He made the months of 29 and 31 days. An extra month called “Mercedonius” was added every second year to bring the year closer to the solar year.
Although this calendar also did not prove to be completely accurate, it was more improved than the 10 months of the Romulus calendar.
How were the months named?
Martius: It was named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It was considered the first month of the year and was considered auspicious for new beginnings and military campaigns.
Aprilis: It was derived from the Latin word “aperire”, which means “to blossom”. At this time, spring came in Rome and colorful flowers bloomed.
Maius: This month was named after the Roman goddess Maia. Maya was the goddess of fertility and earth.
Junius: It was named after the Roman god Juno. Juno is the patron of marriage, family and women.
Quintilis: Means “fifth month” (“quintus” in Latin means five). It was the fifth month of the year in the Romulan calendar. Later it was named July. Julius Caesar, the first emperor of modern Rome, got it changed in his name.
Sextilis: Meaning “sixth month” (“sextus” in Latin) meaning six. It was the sixth month in the Romulan calendar. Later it was named August in honor of Emperor Augustus.
September: Means “seventh month” (“septem” in Latin means seven). It was the seventh month in the Romulan calendar.
October: Means “eighth month” (“octo” in Latin means eight). It was the eighth month in the Romulan calendar.
November: Means “ninth month” (“novem” in Latin means nine). It was the ninth month in the Romulan calendar.
दिस्बेमर (December): Means “tenth month” (“decem” in Latin means ten). It was the tenth month in the Romulan calendar.
Januarius: It was named after Janus, the god of doors and new beginnings. After the reforms of Numa Pompilius it was made the first month of the year, symbolizing the past and the future.
Februarius: It was named after the Roman purification rite Februa. This month was dedicated to the deity for rituals for the purification of the soul and home.
When this calendar was adopted modernly, these months were known as January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.
…when Roman Emperor Caesar changed the calendar
Julius Caesar made significant and permanent changes to the Roman calendar in 45 BC, creating what is known as the modern Julian calendar. His reform was an attempt to correct the imperfections of the Roman calendar and bring it closer to the solar year (365.25 days).
Despite the reform by Numa Pompilius, the Roman calendar remained 355 days long. An additional month, Mercedonius, was added every other year to match the solar year (365.25 days), but this system was complex and often poorly implemented.
The right to add an extra month rested with the Roman Pontiffs (priests), who would change it for political gain. As a result, festivals and seasons started falling at wrong times. During his visit to Egypt, Julius Caesar sought help from the astronomer Sosigenes, who had developed a more accurate solar calendar based on astronomy.
He made the year 365.25 days and changed the calendar to correspond to the solar year. A leap year (366 days) was added every fourth year with 365 days. During this time, for the first time the months were divided into 30 and 31 days. February was kept as 28 days and in leap years it was made 29 days.
To align the calendar with the solar year, 46 BC was called the “Year of Confusion”, which had 445 days. This extra time helped bring the seasons and festivals on time.
Quintilis was renamed July.
Before adopting this new calendar, Julius Caesar changed the name of the month Quintilis to July. In this way a normal year now became 365 days. Leap year means one extra day (in February) was added every fourth year. The length of the months was increased to 31 days in January, March, May, July, August, October, December and 30 days in April, June, September, November. This Julian calendar was adopted throughout the Roman Empire and continued to be used for centuries in many areas, including Europe.
Changes of Pope Gregory XIII
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar to correct the flaws of the Julian calendar, which is today called the Gregorian calendar.
The Julian calendar was more accurate than before, but it was no less problematic. There was a system of adding one day every fourth year to the Julian calendar. Due to which the average length of a year was 365.25 days. The length of the actual solar year is 365.24219 days. Due to this small difference, the calendar moved forward by one day every 128 years.
By the 16th century, this error had reached 10 days. Due to this, Easter, which falls after the Spring Equinox, was not coming at the right time. Pope Gregory XIII formed a team of astronomers and mathematicians to solve this problem. Many reforms were made in the calendar under his leadership.
The British adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
First of all, 10 days were removed. To align the calendar with the solar year, October 4, 1582 was directly followed by October 15, 1582. Thus, 10 days were removed. Thus, the calendar that is being used today was adopted from the year 1582 after major reforms made by Pope Gregory XIII. The British had accepted this calendar in the year 1752, which has since been called the English New Year.
Indian almanac is still the most accurate
After independence, the same calendar was adopted in India for office work and even today the Indian society adopts the calendar for its religious festivals. Which is based on dates based on solar and lunar phases. It has 30 Tithis in every month, which are based on two Pakshas, eight Pahars, Ghati, Kaal and Muhurta. This is the most accurate relative to the calculation of planetary motion. There is no need for change in this.