Wednesday 15 December 2021

The 1971-2021 calendars

We are down to the final 17 days of 2021. With so many social activities curtailed due to the coronavirus, this is a largely forgettable year. But Tang Chik or Tung Chik (or as some would like to call it Dongzhi, 冬節), the celebration of the winter solstice, just round the corner on the 21st of the month and following which will be Christmas, there is much to cheer. 

I don't observe Christmas but I enjoy the festival and the Christmas songs. As for Tang Chik, I shall be making my way down to the Swee Cheok Tong for the annual worship of our resident deities and paying respects at the memorial altars. However, there'll be no big celebration again as we are still fearful of the virus. What we shall have are the small-scale worship only.

I shall end today's blog entry by asking whether anyone is aware of the acute similarity between the calendars of 2021 and 1971. The two calendars are exactly 50 years apart but a sharp-eyed observer can see that the two calendars are exactly the same, save for the year. The first of January had begun on a Friday in both cases and shall end on a Friday too on the 31st of December.

For calendars to be exactly 50 years apart and still have the same start and end days, I've noticed that it occursevery four years. It last happened for the 2017 and 1967 calendars. No doubt, it will come round again in 2025 when the calendar replicates 1975.


 

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