Mike-Ward.Net

Time for a Change

Having written a few calendar programs over the years I’ve become more than aware of some of the oddities of the Gregorian calendar system. According to this Smithsonian article, Richard Conn Henry, a Johns Hopkins Professor, wants to change all that. His calendar proposal is not all that different from other proposals I’ve seen. Using computer programs and mathematical formulas, Henry has created a standard calendar that is identical from year to year. It is twelve months long and consists of 364 days. January 1, no matter the year, would always fall on a Sunday. So would Christmas.

Calendar reforms are often rejected on religious grounds but surprisingly, there’s another objection.

And what is the biggest objection that Henry has encountered so far? “Your birthday will always fall on the same day of the week. An astonishing number of people don’t like that. They like the variety.”

I guess you really can’t have your cake and eat it to.