9781422276600

beginning in early spring. It was not a perfect calendar, but the lunar calendar noticeably improved communication between people of different backgrounds and cultures. Great Spirit Moon The tribes of North American Indians (also known as the First Nations) had their own way of measuring time. Although the tribes did not name individual days or longer time periods, they all recognized days as basic units. Many tribes kept track of days by setting aside a known number of sticks. They would subtract one stick from the bundle for each cycle of night and day that passed until no sticks remained. Like the Sumerians, they counted longer periods of time with moons. The Indians had 12 to 13 moons included in each year. Instead of counting beyond 30 days, they counted the number of times the Moon went from new (or crescent) to full. The cycles of the Moon also became important for religious observances. There are very few records of calendar-type devices used by the Indians. If they existed, those devices would probably have been considered sacred or secret. Even before the arrival of the colonists, there were different levels of spiritual healers and practitioners in many tribes. Only those who had advanced the furthest in spiritual practices were allowed access to certain objects or information. After the arrival of European settlers, secrecy became survival. As soon as the United States became a nation, there was a push to absorb the Native Americans into white culture and religion, often to the point of persecution or imprisonment. The tribes quickly learned to hide items related to their religious customs, especially once they could be punished for them. It is known that the Native Peoples divided the year into four, or occasionally five, seasons, but the beginning of a new year varied. Some tribes celebrated the beginning of the year in the fall, others around the time of the spring, or vernal equinox. (This is one of the two days of the year when night is approximately as long as day. The other day is called the autumnal equinox.) Some groups set their own dates for the celebration. The Calendar Puzzle: Making the Pieces Fit One might ask, “Why does not everyone use a lunar calendar? The Moon, after all, provides the fundamental calendar unit of a month.” The problem has to do with the time it takes the Moon and Earth to complete one revolution. The Moon orbits around Earth in 29.5 days (a lunar month). Twelve lunar months, or a lunar year, equal 354 days, 8 hours, and 53 minutes. However, it takes Earth 365 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds to orbit around the Sun. These periods of time do not divide evenly into each other.

Ringing in the Western & Chinese New Year

14 n