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My calendar Proposal
I think our current calendar is indefensibly silly.
We've changed the calendar in the past, when forced to. Why not change it again one final time and do it right?
January
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February
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March
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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October
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November
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December
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Tandember
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January 1 is always the day after the shortest day of the year; that is, the day after the Winter Solstice; it would become the first day of Winter. April 1 would become the first day of Spring. July 1 would become the first day of Summer. October 1 would become the first day of Fall.
I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of jiggering the months around, so that October would actually be the eighth month, etc., but I can't come up with a way of doing it that doesn't really throw everything off. “January” is named after Janus, the Roman god who presided over beginnings, so it make sense to leave it at the beginning of the year. “September” comes from the Latin word for the seventh month of the year, with October, November, and December being the eighth, ninth and tenth months, respectively, so those months should be moved closer to the start of the year so that their names match their positions on the calendar. That means that two of the months from February through August have to be moved (or eliminated, to be replaced by two more new months after December. What a mess. That's why I chose to leave the months in their current order, and add one month after December.
Thirteen months of 28 days comes out to 364 days. That leaves one holiday at the end of each year, with a bonus “leap” holiday after that every four years. That way, the “leap” day is at the end of the year, where it won't mess up anything else, instead of in February.
With this arrangement:
- You'd no longer need to be an idiot savant to know that in 1961, the 12th of December was a Friday — the 12th is always Friday, in every month!
- Groups that meet on the third Tuesday of every month would always meet on the same day — the 16th.
- It would be trivial to set up appointments. Everyone would always know what day goes with which dates, and vice versa.
What could be more simple?