Originally posted by John W BoothEr... I'm sure there's a logical flaw in that proposal, but I just can't quite put my finger on it right now. Can you help me out?
I think New Years should be moved to the 2nd of January because the streets of the south east Asian city where I live get so crowded on the evening of the 31st December and then, making it worse, most of the shops are closed on the 1st January.
Originally posted by TeinosukeWhy start a New year in the middle of a month?
Couldn't we find a more logical date to celebrate the New Year? I propose December 21st, the winter solstice, which would have an objective astronomical significance: the New Year would begin when the days start getting longer again (or shorter, in the Southern Hemisphere). Any other thoughts?
Why use the winter solstice, why not the summer solstice, the vernal equinox, the autumn equinox?
Originally posted by adramforallWell, in the imaginary world where people are willing to transform the calendar at my whim, we'd redesignate December 21st as "January 1st"; Christmas Day would be redesignated "January 5th"; and so on.
Why start a New year in the middle of a month?
Why use the winter solstice, why not the summer solstice, the vernal equinox, the autumn equinox?
There's no utterly logical reason to choose one solstice or equinox over another, but it seems slightly more satisfying on a symbolic basis to choose winter or spring, as these tally more with the natural life cycle (new growth in the plant and animal worlds happening early in the year, leaf fall late in the year, so that the year "ages" with the natural world). Of these two options, I chose the winter solstice on the grounds that if one was to change the calendar, it should be changed as little as possible to minimise disruption - so I went to the one that was closest to the present New Year.
However, as I trust you realise, this is not something I was actually seriously advocating.
Originally posted by TeinosukeBecause it's the first day of the year, silly.
Couldn't we find a more logical date to celebrate the New Year? I propose December 21st, the winter solstice, which would have an objective astronomical significance: the New Year would begin when the days start getting longer again (or shorter, in the Southern Hemisphere). Any other thoughts?
