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2012 NEW YEAR GIFT
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Ancient Calendars: All ancient calendars were lunar calendars. The practice of starting a month at the first sighting of a new moon was observed not only by Romans but by Celts and Germans in Europe and by Babylonians and Hebrews in the Lavant. The new moons were sighted after either 29 or 30 days. If clouds obscured vision on the 29th day, that month was declared to have 30 days. This is still done for the Islamic Calendar.
When human civilization excelled in agriculture, there was a need for having a calendar that repeats the seasons so that it would help sowing and harvesting on repeated calendar dates. This calendar was established based on rotation of the earth around the sun. Early estimates of this rotation was 360 days, so the first solar calendar was invented having 12 months of 30 days each. Some civilizations invented a lunisolar calendar which basically had lunar months based on new crescent moons but were adding days or a month to be decided by priests/rabiis wherever and whenever they felt to satisfy social and religious needs to keep their calendar in phase with seasons. This practice of adding days or a 13th month was called "Intercalation".
Babylonian Calendar: Around 1800 B.C. Babylonians were using strictly lunar calendar based on the visible new crescent but somewhere between 1100 B.C and 800 B.C. a lunisolar calendar was adopted using intercalation which was haphazard. Some sources report that during the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadenezzar II (630 B.C. - 562 B.C.) priest/experts discontinued their practice of looking for the new moon and adopted a 365 day calendar of 12 months of 30 days each, with five days added at the end of the year.
Hindu Calendar: Hindus have both solar and lunisolar calendars. In the Hindu solar calendar month is 30 or 31 days and begins on the day of first sunrise after the calculated time of the mean sun's entry into the next zodiacal sign. If the calculated time is after midnight but before (or at) sunrise, then the day of entry is the first day of the new month; otherwise it is the last day of the previous month. In the Hindu lunisolar system months follow the lunar cycle and are synchronized with the solar year by introducing occasional leap months. In south-India months begin at new moon while in north-India months begin at full moon.
Chinese Calendar: Chinese also started using a lunisolar calendar with months beginning on the day of the new moon. Years contain 12 or 13 such months , with the number of months determined by the number of new moons between successive winter solstices. There have been more than 50 calendar reforms since its inception in the 14th century B.C.
Egyptian Calendar: In order to device a solar calendar in ancient times experts observed that Sirius, brightest of all the fixed stars, appeared in summer, rising above horizon just before sunrise. They also noticed that Sirius would return to its position after 365 days. Thus, Egyptians deviced a solar calendar built around 365 days. They gave up their practice of looking for the new moon in favor of the solar calendar.
Greek Calendar: By 13th century B.C. Greeks were using lunar calendar based on the visible new crescent. Later they also learnt intercalation to bring lunar calendar in phase with seasons and started using lunisolar calendar. Astronomers such as Maton in 432 B.C. calculated a 19-year lunisolar cycle where moon phases would repeat in the same seasons. This was called "Metonic Cycle" where 19 solar years were equal to lunar 19 years and 7 months. This concept was later adopted by Jewish or Hebrew calendar.
Hebrew Calendar: Hebrew Calendar, promulgated by the Patriarch, Hillel II, in the mid-fourth century is a lunisolar calndar with months based on new crescent moon but adding a 13th month every so often to bring their lunisolar calendar in phase with the seasons. It consists of 12 month in a common year and 13 months in a leap year. Leap years occur seven times in a cycle of 19 years (Metonic cycle), such that 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th year are leap years. Common years may have 353-355 days, while leap years may have 383-385 days. The beginning of the Hebrew new year is determined by the occurrence of the new moon (conjunction) of the seventh month (Tishri), subject to possible postponement of a day or two according to some rules.
Roman Calendar: About seven hundred years before Julius Caeser, Romans were observing some nominally lunar calendar, and were adding days or a 13th month at the end of their calendar year to keep their calendar in phase with seasons.

Tamil Calender: Each year in the Tamil calendar has a name. These names follow a 60-year cycle. (The number 60 represents five Jovian periods i.e. it takes Jupiter about 12 years to orbit the sun).

The following table lists the cycle of sixty year names:

No.NameName (English)Gregorian YearNo.NameName (English)Gregorian Year
01.பிரபவPrabhava1987 - 198831.ஹேவிளம்பிHevilambi2017 - 2018
02.விபவVibhava1988 - 198932.விளம்பிVilambi2018 - 2019
03.சுக்லSukla1989 - 199033.விகாரிVikari2019 - 2020
04.பிரமோதூதPramodhoodha1990 - 199134.சார்வரிSarvari2020 - 2021
05.பிரசோற்பத்திPrachorpaththi1991 - 199235.பிலவPlava2021 - 2022
06.ஆங்கீரசAangirasa1992 - 199336.சுபகிருதுSubakrith2022 - 2023
07.ஸ்ரீமுகSrimukha1993 - 199437.சோபகிருதுSobakrith2023 - 2024
08.பவBhava1994 - 199538.குரோதிKrodhi2024 - 2025
09.யுவYuva1995 - 199639.விசுவாசுவVisuvaasuva2025 - 2026
10.தாதுThaadhu1996 - 199740.பரபாவParabhaava2026 - 2027
11.ஈஸ்வரEesvara1997 - 199841.பிலவங்கPlavanga2027 - 2028
12.வெகுதானியVehudhanya1998 - 199942.கீலகKeelaka2028 - 2029
13.பிரமாதிPramathi1999 - 200043.சௌமியSaumya2029 - 2030
14.விக்கிரமVikrama2000 - 200144.சாதாரணSadharana2030 - 2031
15.விஷுVishu2001 - 200245.விரோதகிருதுVirodhikrithu2031 - 2032
16.சித்திரபானுChitrabaanu2002 - 200346.பரிதாபிParidhaabi2032 - 2033
17.சுபானுSubaanu2003 - 200447.பிரமாதீசPramaadhisa2033 - 2034
18.தாரணThaarana2004 - 200548.ஆனந்தAanandha2034 - 2035
19.பார்த்திபPaarthiba2005 - 200649.ராட்சசRakshasa2035 - 2036
20.வியViya2006 - 200750.நளNala2036 - 2037
21.சர்வசித்துSarvajith2007 - 200851.பிங்களPingala2037 - 2038
22.சர்வதாரிSarvadhari2008 - 200952.காளயுக்திKalayukthi2038 - 2039
23.விரோதிVirodhi2009 - 201053.சித்தார்த்திSiddharthi2039 - 2040
24.விக்ருதிVikruthi2010 - 201154.ரௌத்திரிRaudhri2040 - 2041
25.கரKara2011 - 201255.துன்மதிThunmathi2041 - 2042
26.நந்தனNandhana2012 - 201356.துந்துபிDhundubhi2042 - 2043
27.விஜயVijaya2013 - 201457.ருத்ரோத்காரிRudhrodhgaari2043 - 2044
28.ஜயJaya2014 - 201558.ரக்தாட்சிRaktakshi2044 - 2045
29.மன்மதManmatha2015 - 201659.குரோதனKrodhana2045 - 2046
30.துன்முகிDhunmuki2016 - 201760.அட்சயAkshaya2046 - 2047


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