Usually at this time of year we have - WebRing

cannot be divided by 400, such as 1700, 1800 and 1900. This calendar is accurate to
about 26 seconds of the solar year.
And that, it seems, is about as perfect as it's going to get!
Does our week work?
Where does the week fit into the calendar story? Some people speculate that the
seven-day week originates with the four phases of the moon, which take little more than
seven days each. Others think it comes from the six days of creation and seven days of
rest described in the Old Testament and first introduced by the Jews as a method of
timekeeping. Over time, countries have experimented with variations on the week, such
as a 10-day week introduced in France in 1792, and a five-day week (with one day of
rest) introduced in the Soviet Union in 1929. What do you think would be the best division?
Naming the "moon"
The months in the Gregorian calendar are named mostly for gods from ancient myths --
March is named for Mars, for example, the ancient Roman god of war. Native
Americans had a different way of naming months, which they called "moons," measured
from one new moon to the next. Moons were named for what was happening in the
natural world, such as Moon of the Popping Trees, which came at the beginning of the
year, when frost made branches crack with cold. Some other names were Moose-
Calling Moon, Food-Almost-Gone Moon and Maple-Sugar Moon. To make your own
natural calendar, keep notes of what's happening in nature, choose your favorite
natural event or the event that seems most representative of the time of year, and
name the month after that.
Who's counting?
In the sixth century, a monk, Dionysius Exiguus, figured out the year he thought Jesus
Christ was born, and called that the year 1. After the date he added the letters A.D.,
which stood for Anno Domini, or the "year of our lord." All dates before that year are
called B.C., or Before Christ. This method of counting is still used for the Gregorian
calendar. What if the monk were not Christian? What if he lived at an earlier time? Or a
later time? What starting date might he have chosen? The Islamic calendar centers on
another important person in the history of religion. Do you know who that is and what
event the calendar's starting date is associated with? What if you were to invent your
own calendar today? What would the starting date be? According to your speculation,
what year would it be now?