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01

Dec

Culture Smart: How Did Thanksgivukkah Happen?

by Sheron Long on December 1, 2013

The hands on the dial of Prague's astronomical clock feature the Moon and the Sun, which are also the basis for calendars created by different cultures. Image © Lucertolone/iStock.

The Moon and the Sun figure prominently in the way different cultures mark time, serving as the
basis for their calendars and gracing old clocks like this one on City Hall in Prague.
© Lucertolone/iStock

Hanukkah and Thanksgiving Day converged in 2013, both falling on November 28 per the Gregorian calendar, creating Thanksgivukkah. And it all happened because of a once-in-a-lifetime calendar mash-up.

Different cultures and religions have created unique ways of marking the passage of time, basing the calendar on the Sun, the Moon, or both.

  • Solar Calendar:  Gregorian

The Gregorian calendar, sometimes known as the western or Christian calendar, is the most commonly used internationally. It is tied to the time it takes Earth to make a revolution around the Sun, which is 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds.

Most years on the Gregorian calendar have 365 days. Since almost 6 hours are lost in these years, one day is added to the calendar almost every four years (Leap Years) to keep the calendar in alignment with Earth’s revolutions around the Sun.

  • Lunar Calendar: Islamic 

The moon takes 29.5 days to go from a new moon to a full moon and back again to a new moon. Following this lunar cycle, the Islamic calendar has 12 months which add to a 354-day year.

  • Luni-Solar Calendars:  Hebrew and Chinese 

A luni-solar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon with periodic corrections that bring the calendar in line with solar approaches. For example, both the Hebrew and Chinese calendars add a month every 2-3 years. Even with the periodic corrections, though, the number of days in a year on a luni-solar calendar and a Gregorian calendar do not match.

But days can coincide, and so it happened that in 2013 Hanukkah on the Hebrew calendar occurred on the same day as Thanksgiving on the Gregorian calendar.

A rare connection, not expected to occur again for 77,000 years. But, as so often happens when cultures meet up in celebration, it was a joyous occasion!

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You can submit photographs of your Thanksgivukkah celebration here. 

Learn more about different calendars at InfoPlease: Chinese, Hebrew, Islamic. Hebcal offers lists of Jewish holidays for any year, a date converter between Gregorian and Hebrew calendars, and more. 

Time and Date offers printable Gregorian calendars with holidays and observances for any year and most countries. You can vary the display to show a combined selection of holidays and events from different cultures and religions.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

Cultural Diversity/Cultural Heritage & Traditions

30

Nov

Aha Moment Maker: Who’s in Charge?

by Your friends at OIC on November 30, 2013

Politician

WASHINGTON D.C., 1849—America was preparing to inaugurate its 12th President, Zachary Taylor, who had been elected to take over for James K. Polk. At that time, Presidential terms began and expired at noon on March 4. However, this particular March 4 happened to be a Sunday, and the religious Taylor insisted that he instead be sworn in on Monday.

The resulting 24-hour gap has led many to wonder, who was the President of the United States from noon on March 4, 1849, until noon on March 5, 1849?

If you happen by his statue outside of the Clinton County Courthouse in Plattsburg, Missouri, or by his gravestone just a mile away, you might be inclined to think the answer is David Rice Atchison. Both monuments identify Atchison, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1843 to 1855, as “President of the United States for one day.”

Atchison was president pro tempore of the Senate, the position next in the line of succession after the President and Vice President. It stood to reason that with the terms of Polk and his VP having expired, and Taylor and his VP not having yet taken the oath, that Atchison indeed had his day!

The official view is that Taylor’s decision to delay the public inauguration didn’t actually delay his presidency. Atchison, however, enjoyed making his claim and recounting the story for the remainder of his life. He was known to admit that he slept through the majority of his “presidency,” and state that his was “the honestest administration this country ever had.”

What’s the aha moment you see?

 

Image © iStockphoto

 

 

Your Own Aha Moments

28

Nov

New Views of City Blocks

by Janine Boylan on November 28, 2013

New views of city blocks (©James McNabb)

© James McNabb

What is this creation from woodworking artist James McNabb?

A musical instrument?

A child’s toy?

A paper organizer?

 

The World's Art & Design

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