Tag Archives: gregorian-calendar

JusJoJan – Calendar – 30 January 2024

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Here is my contribution to the penultimate prompt of JusJoJan from Linda

The calendar shows today as 30 January 2024 and on this day 37 years ago The Earl and I became a legally married couple after living ‘in sin’ for almost four years. The reason that we did not marry earlier was all to do with the archaic rules of the South African Education departments. A young female teacher at the time we met in 1982 could not be appointed to a permanent position at a government school if she were married. There were other discriminations as well but we won’t go into those here. The point is that it caused many women to ‘live in sin’ so that they could continue earning a living. How silly that rule was and of course, it did change and it is now no longer in place.

When I tell young women about this they are astounded! It is hard for them to believe any kind of logic behind it. But in the days of old, it was not considered ‘right’ for married women to work especially if they had children. It was also the reason that men were paid more as they were considered the main breadwinners and needed the money more than women did!

January is the first month on the calendar and after the festive season and getting over the previous year we are all planning what the 2024 calendar holds in store for us. I print out three months of blank calendars and use magnets to attach them to the refrigerator.  As each month is completed the next month is printed to take its place. 

February is going to be a very busy month. Our calendar is marked from 6 to 11 for caravanning at Ebb and Flow, Wilderness with a group of Gecko Caravanners, That should be fun. Watch this space for a report on that. Straight after that, we have the annual Two Oceans Marlin Tournament which is a week-long affair. I am the official photographer and blogger for that event! We will also be hosting an overseas visitor starting 5 February till 5 May.

The biggest thing on the March calendar is our granddaughter’s wedding on Easter Saturday. We are very much looking forward to that! After that, I will have two sisters-in-law to stay and I will have to put my overseas visitor in the caravan while they’re here!

So the calendar is pretty full for the first few months of the year. April has another fishing competition and then after that who knows what might present itself. From June onwards there is a cruise and an eightieth birthday, but May is looking quiet!

JusJoJan 2024 #2 Gregorian

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Here I go with the second day of JusJoJan. Thank you Willow for today’s prompt – Gregorian.

When I hear the word Gregorian I think of the chanting of monks as they worship at chapel. But it is not only Christian monks who chant prayers or hymns. In almost every religion it seems that the worshippers will chant at some stage or another. Deep down I understand this because the sound is beautiful and perhaps that is the point. It evokes a feeling of peace and of wonder. Perhaps, too, it helps the worshipper to concentrate on what he is saying. Children seem to learn when they chant, rap, sing or recite in rhyme. Does chanting do something to our brain waves? I taught at a school where we were encouraged to use music, singing, chanting and movement in our lessons. It seems that such activities calm children and give them a sense of well-being so that the learning process is stimulated. I certainly found that when my small learners became restless an action song would do wonders to get them back on track.

Another thought evoked from the word Gregorian was that of our modern-day calendar. It has only been used since October 1582 and some days in some months had to be lost when it first replaced the Julian calendar which was similar but not as accurate. One wonders what kind of disruption this caused especially when it came to celebrating birthdays. Imagine being told – sorry your birthday is not on the calendar this year! Well, of course, this happens to those born on the 29 February as they only get their actual birthdate every four years! But at least they know this in advance.

So thank you Pope Gregory XIII – we have a calendar that is used in most parts of the world and is pretty accurate as far the solar year is concerned because at the turn of a century, you don’t have a leap year unless the year is divisible by 400. Thus,1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years but 1600 and 2000 were.