Happy New You!

Can you believe it’s the beginning of 2020? Neither can a large portion of the world. Three countries will celebrate their new year in February; two people groups will in March; four in April and another three in October.

If it weren’t for a Pope named Gregory, we wouldn’t be celebrating the new year for another 8 days. The most widely accepted calendar prior to Gregory’s day was slowly drifting with reference to the observable celestial markers. So, in 1582, leap year was introduced, an adjustment was made, and October 4th was followed immediately by October 15th. The Gregorian Calendar with its established year of 2020 is recognized by most of the world. Most … of the world.

If 2020 makes you feel old, just imagine following the Assyrian calendar … Happy 6770! That would have looked weird on your party hats. How about the Hebrew calendar clocking in at 5780? Oy Vey! Would you like to turn things back a bit? We could adopt the French Republican Calendar and wish each other Happy 228! Although abandoned after only 12 years … it kind of made sense. Each year consisted of twelve, thirty-day months, with 5 non-days left at the end of each year. This year, being leap year, you would have received six non-days. That scheme fit very well with the French penchant for celebration.

Well … I’ve merely scratched the surface. I found twenty-one different opinions on what year it is. How can we have so many different dates? It depends where you started counting. In the Gregorian calendar, A.D. abbreviates the Latin Anno Domini … Year of our Lord. According the most widely recognized calendar in the world, we’ve been counting from the birth of Jesus Christ. Historians agree that this count may be off by four to six years … but most serious historians do not deny the reality of Jesus birth or His impact on our world. Academia has largely abandoned A.D. for the abbreviation A.C.E. (After Christian Era). Even this testifies to enormous impact of Jesus Christ on world history.

How about His impact on your personal world history? Are your days anchored on Jesus the Messiah? I may not know which month marks a new year … or even which year it marks, but I have a new beginning worth celebrating.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Happy New You!
 
 
 
 

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