America's Own Calendar

With the Fourth of July this week see if Americans can believe the following four facts.

1) The earth's orbit around the sun is elliptical. This means that there is a point during the year when it is closest to the sun, as well as a point when it is furthest away. Just by chance the Fourth of July, America's much-celebrated Independence Day, is the day when the earth is furthest from the sun.

2) There are 50 U.S. states, represented by the 50 stars on the flag. If we add the District of Columbia, America's capital district, and Puerto Rico, that gives us 52. There are also 52 weeks in a year.

3) There are 13 red and white stripes on the U.S. flag, which represent the 13 original states. There are also 13 lunar cycles in a year, although they don't fit perfectly with the length of the year. The 12 months are based on the lunar cycle but there are actually 13 in a year. The moon orbits the earth in about 27 days and 8 hours, known as a sidereal month. But because the earth is revolving around the sun at the same time the moon appears to go through it's phase cycle in about 29 days and 12 hours, known as a synodic month. But a year divides into 13 four-week periods.

4) There was once a great supernova, an exploding star, that lasted about two years and was so brilliant that it was visible during the day. The brilliant supernova began on July 4, yes the Fourth of July, in the year 1054. The remnants of that supernova are today known as the Crab Nebula. The Crab Nebula turned out to appear red, white and, blue, the same colors as America's flag. Image from the Wikipedia article "Crab Nebula".

So why doesn't America have it's own calendar? I have long thought that we should name the weeks rather than the months. Ever since the Industrial Revolution the week has been more important to most people than the month. The Gregorian Calendar that we use now is a medieval calendar that preceded the Industrial Revolution, from when most people were working in agriculture.

In the American Calendar the year would begin on what is now the Fourth of July. This is the day on which the earth, in it's elliptical orbit, just happens to be at it's furthest point from the sun. The calendar would thus show where the earth is in it's orbit, in which it moves more slowly the further it is from the sun. This would be ideal for the Space Age.

The 52 weeks in a year would be named for the U.S. states, which are represented by the 50 stars on the flag, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. To avoid confusion with Washington State, Washington D.C. would simply be listed as "D.C.", or the "District of Columbia".

The present months were originally based on the lunar cycle but got stretched so that there are 12 months in the year. The American Calendar would have 13 four-week periods, based on what the lunar cycle actually is and named for the 13 original states, in alphabetical order, that are represented by the 13 stripes on the U.S. flag. Image from Wikipedia article "Flag of the United States".

Isn't it about time that America had a calendar of it's own? I am sure that Ben Franklin would have introduced this calendar if more had been known about space at the time.