79 East Main Street, Babylon NY 11702
First Presbyterian Church of Babylon
631-
twelfth month means ten—Dec). And the total number of days of those ten months was
a mere 304. You see, the first month was March and the last month was December. The
days of winter (what we call January and February) obviously existed, however, they
were not assigned a month name. Winter was considered a non-
In about 450 BC, the Roman calendar was revised and the first 31 days of winter were given the name January after the Latin word for door. It was thought the days of winter were the doorway to the productive months already named. The remaining days of winter were named February which comes from another Latin word meaning purification. The Romans held a purification ritual on (or about) February 15.
February is indeed an odd month. It is the only month with less than 30 days. It is the only month without a set number of days. It was the last month to be added to the calendar.
In most years, February is also the beginning of Lent. Lent is that period of time from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. Not counting the Sundays of Lent, Lent is 40 days in length reminding us of the forty day Jesus spent in solitude in the desert prior to beginning his earthly ministry.
Because every year Easter Sunday falls on a different date, the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, also falls on a different date. This year, Ash Wednesday occurs on February 22. On that day, we will gather for worship at 7:30 pm. The worship service will include both the Sacrament of Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes. The ashes are a reminder of our mortality. And in being reminded of our mortality, we should become aware of our sinfulness. And in being aware of our sinfulness—our separation from God—we become aware of our need for a mediator—some way for us to be right with God. The ashes are placed on our forehead in the sign of a cross to remind us that that way is, indeed, the cross of Jesus: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
Grace and Peace,
The calendar used by most of the world today is known as the Gregorian calendar. It was established by an edict signed by Pope Gregory XIII on February 24, 1582. Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar which had been established by the emperor Julius Caesar in 45 BC. The calendar in effect (by most of the western world) prior to the Julian calendar was the Roman calendar. That calendar began with the founding of Rome, which, using today’s Gregorian calendar, was 753 BC.
The Roman calendar had a total of ten months (which helps to explain why the name of our
THOUGHTS FROM THOMAS
