Calendars - 2014? Already?

 

I finally got around to buying a new calendar for 2014. I always try to choose a theme that we can live with for the whole year … birds, lighthouses, beautiful beaches … as long as the calendar doesn't cost more than a dollar or two. This year I also decided to print my own because 1) I'm cheap and didn't want to buy a second calendar and 2) I like big, blank blocks I can write in for planning projects, remembering b-days and doing countdowns till our next sail date. I like to keep it all in my notebook. Yes, I realize I can do all this on my laptop or iPad, but I like to jot down notes the old-fashioned way sometimes.

Lin, on the other hand, uses her iPhone for all of her appointments, planning, etc. Still, she always requests a Wicca calendar for her December birthday and I always buy it for her. She can keep track of Esbats and Sabbats that way and maybe learn a new spell or two. She refers to its “color of the day” reminder when getting dressed each morning, just to make sure she's in sync with the rest of her witchy world.

Since we're on the subject of calendars, I might add I was always a bit confused by the Julian (named after Julius Caesar) versus the Gregorian (named after Pope Gregory VIII) calendar. Wikipedia explained that the Gregorian calendar in current use was developed in 1582 as a time adjustment to the Julian calendar amounting to a 0.002% correction in the length of the year. Evidently the motivation for the reform was so that the Christian Easter celebration stayed in sync with the spring equinox. Anyhow, people born around that time always have two birth dates, one according to the Gregorian calendar and the other according to the Julian. Two birthdays would be right up my alley.

According to my research there are about 40 different active calendars in use throughout the world. For the Jews, for instance, it is now the year 5774. Their new year starts with Rosh Hashanah in September. The Muslims use the lunar Hijiri calendar and it's 1435 for them. The Chinese will celebrate their New Year on January 31st 2014. They move from the year of the Snake to the year of the Horse. I'm an Ox and David is a Rat, so it won't be our years.

The Mayan calendar ended in 2012 (5125). The world was supposed to be the end then, but it didn't, so now it's either 5127 or 2. I haven't figured out the exact calculations and I don't know any Mayans to consult with.

Want to create and print your own 2014 calendar? It's free, easy and even country specific for holidays.  I just printed out my own Australian 2014 calendar and it's great.

Speaking of calendars … at the moment, we're using the Nine of Cups Twelve Days of Christmas countdown calendar.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Five I miss you's

Four galley updates

Three e-mailed errands

Two bigger duffels

And a Christmas morning greeting on Skype