ALTER THE CALENDAR

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3927, 16 July 1937, Page 6

ALTER THE CALENDAR

At frequent intervals, during the past fifty years at least, there has been advocacy of what has come to be called calendar reform, including provision for a fixed Easter; but invariably there has been enough opposition or apathy forthcoming or apparent to frustrate or nulllify such a change. One of the latest proposals for calendar reform comes from the South American Rtepublic of Chile. It may be mentioned that the present caienoar has not been altered for about two hundred years. In Chile’s proposal the year is divided into four quarters, each with 91 days. Each quarter begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. Each month has 26 working days. The 365th day of the year is fitted in as an extra Saturday between December 30 and January 1, and Leap Year’s extra day is provided for in the same way between June 30 and July 1. It is proposed to make the two “intercalary days” international holidays. The scheme has its merits. Days of the week would fall on the same dates every year, so that tire calendar would be perpetual. But it also has its disadvantages—for some people. New Year’s Day, for instance, would fall on a Sunday, wl\i the pubs would be shut. Probably we shall be informed that the Calendar Reform Leagues of England, America and elsewhere (possibly in New Zealand, too) have adopted this plan, and are calling for universal adoption and recognition.