Abstract
GREECE ADOPTS THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR.—The Gregorian Calendar was adopted for civil purposes in Greece from the beginning of March. As Russia has apparently taken the same step, the old or Julian style becomes practically obsolete. M. D. Eginitis, director of the Athens Observatory, contributes a paper to the Comptes rendus of the Paris Academy of Sciences, March 12, in which he notes that the finding of the decree of Nicsea, A.D. 325, shows that, far from prohibiting such a change, it in reality rather demands it. The decree simply directed that Easter should everywhere be kept on the same day; by implication this day was the first Sunday after the 14th day of the first lunation after the spring equinox, which was assumed to occur on March 21. When it was found that the Julian Calendar did not maintain the equinox at this date, the reform at once became appropriate. The causes that for so long retarded its acceptance in eastern Europe were largely removed by the War, and M. Eginitis addressed a memorandum to the Greek Government in December 1918, which has now been followed.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Our Astronomical Column. Nature 111, 546 (1923). https://doi.org/10.1038/111546a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/111546a0