Guess what time it is?
Time for Lessons on History and Culture and Science and Stuff!
So, you may know that we all use the Gregorian calendar, as popularized by Pope Gregory XIII, but you may not know that its rival, the Julian calendar, was not actually named after Julius Caesar. It may seem natural to assume so, given the Juli- in each of their names; but remember: Caesar’s name was not Julian, it was Julius.
Furthermore, during the transition from what we now call the Julian calendar to our more familiar Gregorian, the name of the old notation was actually the Common calendar. Pope Gregory, not exactly the most humble character when it came to his reforms (the guy has a form of chant named after him too, after all), decided that the new calendar, rather than being named something like the New Common or the Reformed calendar, should be named after him.
And so we have the Gregorian calendar.
But then, you may ask, where does the name “Julian calendar” come from? It’s actually a more common construct, named after actor Julian Sands.
Julian Sands was notoriously difficult to work with early in his career, due to his demanding everything be run on the Common calendar. It was the calendar he grew up with at home, a tradition passed down through generations to his grandmother and to him, and he wasn’t going to let some dead pope decide which day or month was which for him. As he continued working in film, word spread, and by the time he stepped on the set for a supporting role in The Killing Fields, everybody already knew about “Julian’s calendar.”
When the film was nominated for an Oscar and more people took an interest in the minutiae behind the scenes, what was confined to the set eventually broke out into popular knowledge. Soon enough, Julian’s calendar became the Julian calendar, the name we’re all familiar with today.
Some historians, angry that their beloved Julius Caesar’s own calendar was being named for an actor, by popular culture of all things, began a revisionist campaign. Books were rewritten to claim that the Common calendar was always called the Julian calendar — don’t let these tactics fool you. If you have access to any history books written before the 1980s, confirm for yourself: no mention of the Julian calendar. Not a one.
Remember: it does not take a vocal majority to change the perceived course of history. All it takes is a concerted effort by a dedicated group of individuals, and before long what we once knew to be true is obscured by falsified “facts.”
Save this knowledge for posterity, friends. The more you know.
