Lent is the time of preparation for Easter, like Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas. For some people, however, it means they’re just recovering from their hangover from Mardi Gras. Unless you go to New Orleans, you may not realize that Mardi Gras runs for two weeks rather than just one day.

So, what is it about holidays, other than just some time off from work? Yes, they are special occasions each year intended to commemorate some event or period in history. Well, of course, Easter is more than just the Easter Bunny. For Christians, it is the story of the Resurrection of Jesus, the crowning moment in Christian Theology.

A carving of the Chinese zodiac on the ceiling of the gate to Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka, Japan

I guess that depends upon which of about 30 calendars you’re using. The Gregorian calendar is the one used in most of the world. This calendar was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, for whom it is named. It is a modification of the Julian Calendar, created by Julius Caesar. The pope was interested in a more regular calculation of the date for Easter. We have 12 months, but they vary in length from 28 - 31 days. The Western signs of the Zodiac roughly equate to the 12 months, but they don’t match exactly. The names of the signs originate with constellations of the same name.

Sunday also was the beginning of the year of the Rabbit for the Chinese calendar year 4659. The Chinese also have 12 signs of the Zodiac, but they name them for animals. The Chinese New Year will hold special significance this year after a long period of isolation due to the policy of zero-tolerance of Covid-19. The door arbitrarily swung open for travel recently. The effects of that remain to be seen The Chinese tradition is to visit families for the new year. In the U.S. we usually consider that a tradition of the Thanksgiving holiday, which is unique to the U.S. and calendar.

The Nativity by Toros Taronatsi, Gladzor monastery, 1318, ms206 Matenadaran collection

The current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has an article titled “Calculating Christmas” that includes a discussion if Jesus was born on December 25th. The author focuses on a 3rd Century historian Hippolytus. A statue of him in the Vatican contains an inscription that notes that Jesus’ conception occurred on April 2 2 BC. Calculating the birth to be 9 months later leads to December 25th. He argues that the Romans didn’t celebrate the Winter Solstice until later so the historian was not influenced by a pagan celebration. Many historians declare that his birth occurred in 4 BC because of the Roman Census and the death of Herod.