History Of Gregorian Calendar And Its Association With Jesus Christ

As the world is celebrating the arrival of new year bidding farewell to the 2024, many are reluctant to consider the year cycles, arguing them to be just an invention of human beings. Moreover, there are many calendars, including the Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and Julian calendars although the Gregorian has been widely accepted and used by the people across the world.

It is therefore the folks across the world celebrate New Year’s on the eve of the final month of the Gregorian calendar, December 31, welcoming January 1 with fireworks, concerts, new resolutions, plans, and more. Though different calendars were evolved based on the lunar and the period of the month, which takes around 28 to 30 days, the Gregorian calendar is rather a solar one, which is based on the Earth’s rotation around the sun.

Read Also: Happy New Year 2025: Wishes, Messages, Quotes, And Images To Share With Loved Ones

Origin of Gregorian Calendar and Its Association with Jesus Christ 

As the Gregorian calendar does not have a zero year, the current counting reaches 2024 straight from AD 1, which is considered as after the birth of Jesus Christ. Many associate the calendar’s origin with the birth of Jesus Christ and Christianity. The year before Jesus is considered as BC. Notably, some mistakenly refer to AD as after death, which is not true, as AD actually stands for ‘Anno Domini’ (Year of Our Lord).

Read Also: New Year Gift: ATF Rates Cut By 1.5 %, Commercial LPG Rates Reduced

Originating in the Western Christian tradition, the Gregorian calendar was established in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, fixing errors in the Julian calendar that caused the date of Easter to be calculated incorrectly. The Julian calendar is claimed to have introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE. However, there are several claims regarding the first person to calculate the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun, resulting in the evolutions of the calendar.

Both calendars have 365 days, to which an additional day is added approximately every four years, which is known as leap years.

However, it is perceived that the Gregorian calendar started at the approximate birth date of Jesus Christ, as many biblical scholars claim that Jesus was born at four or five BCE. All things considered, the Gregorian calendar has an indisputable connection with the birth of Jesus.