Publisher's Synopsis
Three streams of history created the Western calendar - from the East, beginning with the Sumerians; from the Celtic and Germanic peoples in the North; and again from the East, this time from Palestine, with the rise of Christianity. Michael Judge teases out the contributions of each stream to the shape of the calendar - to days and holidays and associated lore. Richly informative and crammed with fascination - like the fact that the ancient Romans left 60 days of winter out of their calendar, considering these two months a dead time of terror best left unnamed!
