14 January 2011

Best wishes ...

... for a very happy New Year - I'm sorry that this is a bit belated for those living adjacent to the Greenwich meridian - all my readers who follow that Calendar which is actually to be found in the liturgical books dating from the Pontificate of that great pontiff, S Pius V, and in the liturgical books from the reign of our late Sovereign Lord King Charles II of most blessed memory.

May I take the opportunity of again recommending The Tridentine Rite Blog. Not only can one look at its Sunday-by-Sunday explanations of the Real and Organic Calendar; you can of course look back to last year and see what it says about an up-coming day.

I believe it is the decently humble custom of the Roman Catholic Church, in countries where the predominant Christian Calendar is Julian, to require even Latins to observe the Julian Easter. Two queries: does this principle extend to the fixed festivals; and: do Anglican chaplaincies in these countries follow the same humane and courteous principle? Or do we behave in accordance with our instinctive English and Anglican cultural arrogance?

8 comments:

  1. New year? It's not Lady Day yet in any calendar.

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  2. Sir Watkin, I am glad someone pointed that out. I have (privately) celebrated New Year on 25th March for many years, though initially this was because it was the New Year in Gondor...

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  3. January 14th - Gregorian Calendar = January 01 - Julian Calendar.

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  4. Yes- New Year in England March 25th
    as also Rome, but Papal Letters were issued using December 25th as New Year's Day, while in parts of France it was Easter that started the year and elsewhere in Europe September 1st. What richness we have lost through sterile uniformity.

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  5. It's only those godly bankers who keep Julian New year Lady Day on 6th April. Or is it a couple of days out now?

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  6. One day out, I think - the financial year kept a leap year in 1800 but not 1900.

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  7. How right V.d.P. is!

    The present age demands unity where variety is desirable, whilst sowing chaos where unity is essential. A genius for getting things not just wrong, but precisely wrong. How the demons must laugh at us.

    Patricius may be pleased to know that I have an aunt who keeps 25th March as New Year's Day - and according to the Julian calendar.

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  8. Esteemed Fr. John,

    Thank you for the 'plug'.

    Sir Watkin,

    Is your aunt looking to marry by any chance - sounds my type of gel!

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