Opinion/Conley: How RI helped shape the celebration of Christmas
By Patrick T. Conley In the fourth century, Western civilization operated under the calendar promulgated by Julius Caesar (the Julian Calendar). The first day of the year was March 25, and December, as indicated by its name, was the 10th month. A nine-month period of human gestation from New Year’s Day (March 25) onward would culminate with a birth on Dec. 25. By the seventh century, the Roman Catholic church had designated March 25 as the Feast of the Annunciation, the day on which the Virgin Mary was told that she would conceive a son to be called Jesus. Ironically, Pope Gregory in 1582 ...
Source: providencejournal.com
