Naming the Days Meaningfully

Numbering the days helps us organize them better, but naming the days adds a depth of meaning.

quotation from NOBA Time and Culture

“Many cultures use social activities to define their calendars rather than the other way around. The calendars of the Nuer people from the Upper Nile in the Sudan, for example, are based on the seasonal changes in their environment. They know that the month of kur is occurring because they are building their fishing dams and cattle camps. When they break camp and return to their villages, they know it must now be the month of dwat.”

“Most societies have some type of week, but it is not always seven days long. The Muysca of Columbia had a three-day week. The Incas of Peru had a 10-day week. Often the length of the week reflects cycles of activities, rather than the other way around. For many, the market is the main activity requiring group coordination. The Khasi people hold their markets every eighth day. Consequently, they have made their week eight days long and named the days of the week after the places where the main markets occur (Levine, 2005)”

Render the Calendar unto Caesar

the Roman-Julian-Gregorian Calendar’s best days are behind them.

April  21st 2019 CE marks the start of the 2,772nd Year since the founding of Rome, and despite reforms in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and 1582 AD by Pope Gregory XIII, it has changed very little over the centuries, although our understanding of our place in the world, and how we think about time, has changed considerably.

“Don’t blame me! I didn’t design the stupid thing!”

–Pope Gregory XIII

The Gregorian Calendar, the one we use to schedule ourselves globally, is the absolute worst tool for the job. Change my mind.