{"id":23,"date":"2015-10-06T16:20:17","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T16:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/zelixart101\/?post_type=chapter&p=23"},"modified":"2015-10-26T21:22:22","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T21:22:22","slug":"common-questions-about-dates","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-arthistory1\/chapter\/common-questions-about-dates\/","title":{"raw":"Common Questions about Dates","rendered":"Common Questions about Dates"},"content":{"raw":"
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Today is:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Gregorian<\/th>\r\nWednesday, 26 December 2012<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Mayan<\/th>\r\nLong count = 13.0.0.0.5; tzolkin = 9 Chicchan; haab = 8 Kankin<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
French<\/th>\r\n6 Niv\u00f4se an 221 de la R\u00e9volution<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Islamic<\/th>\r\n12 Safar 1434<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Hebrew<\/th>\r\n13 Teveth 5773<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Julian<\/th>\r\n13 December 2012<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
ISO<\/th>\r\nDay 3 of week 52 of 2012<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Persian<\/th>\r\n6 Dey 1391<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Ethiopic<\/th>\r\n17 Takhsas 2005<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Coptic<\/th>\r\n17 Kiyahk 1729<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Chinese<\/th>\r\nCycle 78, year 29 (Ren-Chen), month 11 (Ren-Zi), day 14 (Xin-You)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

How long has our calendar been around?<\/h2>\r\nWe are writing this on 12\/26\/12 or Wednesday, December 26, 2012; traditionally understood as two-thousand and twelve years (give or take a few) after Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. But if Jesus used a calendar, it would not have been the one we use.\r\n\r\nOur calendar is called the Gregorian calendar and was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. There are many other calendars. Quite a few societies have used calendars linked to the years their kings ruled. And there are numerous calendars, beyond the Gregorian calendar, that are still in use today. For example, 2012 equates to 1434\/35 in the Islamic calendar and 5772\u201373 in the Jewish calendar (both are lunar, based on the cycles of the moon).\r\n

BC or BCE?<\/h2>\r\nMany people use the abbreviations BC and AD when writing a year (for example, AD 2012). BC refers to \"Before Christ,\" and the initials, AD, stand for Anno Domini, which is Latin for \"In the year of our Lord.\" This system was devised by a monk in the year 525. A more recent system uses BCE which stands for \u201cBefore the Common Era\u201d and CE for \u201cCommon Era.\u201d This newer system is now widely used as a way of expressing the same periods as BC and AD, but without the Christian reference. According to these systems, we count time backwards Before the Common Era (BCE) and forwards in the Common Era (CE).\r\n

Circa?<\/h2>\r\nOften dates will be preceded with a \"c.\" or a \u201cca.\u201d \u00a0These are abbreviations of the Latin word \"circa\" which means around, or approximately. We use this before a date to indicate that we do not know exactly when something happened, so c. 400 BCE means approximately 400 years Before the Common Era.\r\n

Why 2012 is in the Twenty-First\u00a0Century?<\/h2>\r\nWe live in the twenty-first\u00a0century, that is, the 2000s. Similarly when we say \u201ctwentieth\u00a0century,\u201d we are referring to the 1900s. All this because, according to the calendar we use, the first\u00a0century included the years 1\u201399 (there was no year zero), and the second\u00a0century, the years 100\u2013199. Similarly, when we say second\u00a0century BCE we are referring to the years 100\u2013199 BCE.\r\n\r\nWithin our calendar, we also have a tendency to find portentous meaning in the millennial years, that is, in the years 1000 and more recently, 2000.","rendered":"
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Today is:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Gregorian<\/th>\nWednesday, 26 December 2012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mayan<\/th>\nLong count = 13.0.0.0.5; tzolkin = 9 Chicchan; haab = 8 Kankin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
French<\/th>\n6 Niv\u00f4se an 221 de la R\u00e9volution<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Islamic<\/th>\n12 Safar 1434<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hebrew<\/th>\n13 Teveth 5773<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Julian<\/th>\n13 December 2012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISO<\/th>\nDay 3 of week 52 of 2012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Persian<\/th>\n6 Dey 1391<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ethiopic<\/th>\n17 Takhsas 2005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coptic<\/th>\n17 Kiyahk 1729<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chinese<\/th>\nCycle 78, year 29 (Ren-Chen), month 11 (Ren-Zi), day 14 (Xin-You)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

How long has our calendar been around?<\/h2>\n

We are writing this on 12\/26\/12 or Wednesday, December 26, 2012; traditionally understood as two-thousand and twelve years (give or take a few) after Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. But if Jesus used a calendar, it would not have been the one we use.<\/p>\n

Our calendar is called the Gregorian calendar and was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. There are many other calendars. Quite a few societies have used calendars linked to the years their kings ruled. And there are numerous calendars, beyond the Gregorian calendar, that are still in use today. For example, 2012 equates to 1434\/35 in the Islamic calendar and 5772\u201373 in the Jewish calendar (both are lunar, based on the cycles of the moon).<\/p>\n

BC or BCE?<\/h2>\n

Many people use the abbreviations BC and AD when writing a year (for example, AD 2012). BC refers to “Before Christ,” and the initials, AD, stand for Anno Domini, which is Latin for “In the year of our Lord.” This system was devised by a monk in the year 525. A more recent system uses BCE which stands for \u201cBefore the Common Era\u201d and CE for \u201cCommon Era.\u201d This newer system is now widely used as a way of expressing the same periods as BC and AD, but without the Christian reference. According to these systems, we count time backwards Before the Common Era (BCE) and forwards in the Common Era (CE).<\/p>\n

Circa?<\/h2>\n

Often dates will be preceded with a “c.” or a \u201cca.\u201d \u00a0These are abbreviations of the Latin word “circa” which means around, or approximately. We use this before a date to indicate that we do not know exactly when something happened, so c. 400 BCE means approximately 400 years Before the Common Era.<\/p>\n

Why 2012 is in the Twenty-First\u00a0Century?<\/h2>\n

We live in the twenty-first\u00a0century, that is, the 2000s. Similarly when we say \u201ctwentieth\u00a0century,\u201d we are referring to the 1900s. All this because, according to the calendar we use, the first\u00a0century included the years 1\u201399 (there was no year zero), and the second\u00a0century, the years 100\u2013199. Similarly, when we say second\u00a0century BCE we are referring to the years 100\u2013199 BCE.<\/p>\n

Within our calendar, we also have a tendency to find portentous meaning in the millennial years, that is, in the years 1000 and more recently, 2000.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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