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Religious Holidays and Calendars An Encyclopedic Handbook 3RD EDITION Religious Holidays and Calendars An Encyclopedic Handbook 3RD EDITION Edited by Karen Bellenir Foreword by Martin E. Marty 615 Griswold Street • Detroit, MI 48226 Bibliographic Note The information in this publication was compiled from the sources cited in the bibliography with guidance from the advisors listed in the Preface and from other sources considered reliable. While every possible effort has been made to ensure reliability, the publisher will not assume liability for damages caused by inaccuracies in the data, and makes no warranty, express or implied, on the accuracy of the information contained herein. Karen Bellenir, Managing Editor Bruce N. G. Cromwell, Ph.D., Contributing Editor Wendy Heller, Contributing Editor Patricia Lin, Ph.D., Contributing Editor Laura Pleva Nielsen, Index Editor EdIndex, Services for Publishers, Indexers *** Omnigraphics, Inc. Matthew P. Barbour, Senior Vice President Kay Gill, Vice President—Directories Kevin Hayes, Operations Manager Leif Gruenberg, Development Manager David P. Bianco, Marketing Consultant *** Peter E. Ruffner, Publisher Frederick G. Ruffner, Jr., Chairman Copyright © 2004 Omnigraphics, Inc. ISBN 0-7808-0665-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Electronic or mechanical reproduction, including photography, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system for the purpose of resale is strictly prohibited without permission in writing from the publisher. This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the ANSI Z39.48 Standard. The infinity symbol that appears above indicates that the paper in this book meets that standard. Printed in the United States Table of Contents Foreward .................................................................................................................................................... ix Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ xi Part One: The History of Calendars Chapter 1 Basic Questions All Calendars Must Answer ............................................. 3 Calendars throughout History ......................................................................... 3 Origins of the Calendar ..................................................................................... 3 How Long Is a Day? .......................................................................................... 5 How Long Is a Month? ...................................................................................... 6 How Long Is a Year? .......................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 The History of Lunar and Lunisolar Calendars ........................................ 11 The Chinese Calendar ..................................................................................... 11 The Calendars of India .................................................................................... 13 The Babylonian Calendar ................................................................................ 13 The Jewish Calendar ........................................................................................ 15 The Greek Calendars ....................................................................................... 15 The Islamic Calendar ....................................................................................... 22 British Traditions .............................................................................................. 22 The Teutonic Calendars .................................................................................. 24 The Icelandic Calendar ...........................................