Customer Reviews

The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar: A Miscellany of History and Myth, Religion and Astronomy, Festivals and Feast Days

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Our changing concept of time and the surprising, often mysterious origins of the calendar come to life in this richly informative, beautifully written book.
Did you know that the ancient Romans left sixty days of winter out of their calendar, considering those two months a dead time of lurking terror and therefore better left unnamed? That they had a horror of even numbers, hence the tendency for months to have an odd number of days? That robed and bearded Celtic druids stand behind our New Year's figurehead, Father Time? That if Thursday is Thor's day, then Friday belongs to Freya, Odin's faithful wife and queen of the Norse gods? That the word Easter may derive from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre, whose con-sort was a hare, our Easter Bunny?
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 the days and holidays, and to thelore associated with them. Here he finds glimpses of a way of seeing before the mechanical time of clocks, when the rhythms of man and woman matched those of earth and sky, and the sacred was born.
Unlike a watch or a clock, the calendar does not presume to duplicate time. Instead, it serves as a landscape of time, a description not of the thing itself, but of what the thing may mean; a cry not for scientific precision but for emotional understanding. Unlike other timekeeping devices, the calendar is organic: a social contract reminding hurried modern creatures of their debt to nature and to the past.

Most people have forgotten, having surrendered their time to mechanisms, why Halloween falls at the end of October, why the birth of Christ is proclaimed in winter's darkness, why Easter and Passover come hand in hand with the spring. Yet it is exactly in answering these questions that we discover a remarkable world, far and yet near, ancient and yet as new as tomorrow's sunrise, where symbol and reality conjoin.
I mean this: in late autumn, with the shadows growing, the calendar summons children to carve leering faces into pumpkin flesh; a tribute, though they do not know it, to all of their dead ancestors, returning for one night from the loam, and a reminder, though they need not yet heed it, of the ghosts that they will one day be-come.
The calendar fences the latter days of December away from the rest of the common year, commanding the vulgar world to pause and await the birth of the savior and his symbol, the returning sun.
The calendar commands that Easter can only occur after the vernal equinox, when Christ returns amid robins and blooming hyacinth, lengthening days, and sudden rains, and, like nature after winter's cruelty, is reconciled to the world.
Halloween and the death of the year, Christmas lights shining in the depths of winter, Easter services held at the rising of the gentle spring sun: these things, the simplest things, recall a universe in which we were not strangers. That universe is with us still - in fact it lies one step beyond the stoop. Its story is ours, as old as humanity. Its cast is immense - wind and weather, stars and saints, kings and peasants - and the lead is none other than dear old Mother Earth herself, who waltzes around our sun in stately time, trailing the seasons in her train. Yet for many, that world remains hidden, just out of sense, like the half-heard murmur of an under-ground stream. Uncovering that stream, and inviting you to drink from its waters, is the purpose of this book.

The origins of our present calendar go way back in time. But how far, and what's the real story of the early Christians taking over the earlier pagan holiday of Saturnalia so to usurp a pagan orgy by making it the day for the Mass of Christ, reversed to be Christmas.

Or what about Halloween, the oldest of all the holidays, and the closest to its original form. And why is Easter the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

These are the kinds of stories that fill this book. Perhaps it is not the deepest most thoughtful book of all time, but it makes quite interesting reading.

It's a little disconcerting writing a review of a book when you know the author himself reads them!

The key word in the title of this book is "miscelleny". I think I was hoping for a more comprehensive and studious tour through the wilds of the history of our calendar and how it came to be what it is today. Although it's clear that research was done and a history of how the calendar came to be is indeed tackled, it's all a bit... well, flowery, for my tastes.

Here's a small sampling of what I mean:
"...Deneb glittering in her beak like a diamond she's plucked from an Eastern treasure horde. High above both, ruby-red Arcturus marks the heel of the kindly shepherd Bootes, who drives the stars of spring across the sky. Orion flees, humbled, below the western horizon..."

It's all well and good, it's just not for me. I'd guess that references to "lovemaking" and related terms are actually used more often than references to the word "calendar". If you enjoy stories and myths from Greek and Roman times, with a smattering from the Celts, Germans, and other "westerners", told somewhat floridly, you'll like this.

One thing that sticks with me is the disturbing story of the Wicker Man. It, and some of the other tales, made me want to know more (how long did this go on, how wide-spread was it, who was chosen to be the victims, etc.), but I kept coming back to that word "miscellany"... it's not MEANT to be thorough.

So to sum up I'd say the book delivers what the title promises, but didn't satisfy my curiosity about the subject!

I came across this little paperback tucked in between more impressive-looking tomes at the bookstore in the European History section. If not for the subtitle, "A Miscellany of History and Myth, Religion and Astronomy, Festivals and Feast Days," I'd never have bought it, because the title proper does not satisfactorily describe the content. I am not interested in TIME, per se, but I did write a master's thesis in folkart and am very interested in all kinds of folklore, genealogy, ritual, and comparative religion. So I bought it and have loved it...great bedside companion on these wintry nights. A huge bonus is the beautiful writing style of Mr. Judge - he makes pictures in my head - the highest praise of this artist/folklorist. The book justifies the deep human yearning to celebrate the cycles of the natural world without having to deny one's more conventional religious upbringing (no doubt a growing concern since paganism is one of the fastest growing religions). Comforting.

This is actually the wife of the Amazon member. I bought this back in the summer, at the solstice. How quickly i found myself at another, albeit more starkly beautiful solstice ..... The depth of knowledge and the beauty of the prose is outstanding. As one familiar with world religions, anthropology, mythology and the like, i found this book to be a refreshing change from so much of what is currenty available through the new age/earth religion venue: this book is absolutey stunning and will pass the test of time. I brought it to work with me, and it is my companion for this year's quiet, solitary solstice. Such a balm for the spirit, and a comfort ......highly recommended.

This is an excellent reference work on the origins of the calendar.
For instance, the ancient Romans left 60 days of winter out of the
calendar for practical reasons. The Chinese Water Clock originated
in 1008. The Celtic calendar consisted of the dark half of winter
and the light half of summer or milder weather. There are literary
expressions throughout. i.e.

Awake. And in the fires of spring
Your wintry garden repentance fling. by Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The work is perfect for historians, time watchers, students of
geography and world history. The acquisition would be helpful
for a wide constituency of writers, publishers and others in
academia.

Having written the damned thing, I cannot in honesty rate it; hence the three stars. However, I do take exception to Mr. Bond's review. True, I did not include a bibliography and mea culpa; that was an error that will hopefully be amended with the second printing (if there is one). So far as footnotes go, Shelby Foote had none in his tremendous history of the Civil War, considered still by most folks the greatest work on the subject. In the future, I shall be happy to respond, on this site and in detail, to any inquiries about my source material. As far as the rest of Mr. Bond's complaints go, I can at least state with surity that every quote in the book is given full attribution, and if Mr. Bond does not know where I gained such arcane lore as the fact that the solar year is a bit over 365 days long, or that Halloween falls at the end of October, or that Julius Caesar was killed in March, I can only suggest that he consult either the weather page of his local newspaper, the writings of Plutarch and William Shakespeare, or, if he really wants to be an academic, the "Old Farmer's Almanac." That's where a lot of it came from.

My aim in the book was not to produce a history of the calander. It was, rather, to attempt a deliniation of how the advance of time affects the spiritual contours of the human soul. I most certainly failed in the attempt, but there are, I do believe, a few rare glimmers in my text that made the task worth the venture. Man's reach must exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for? That's Robert Browning, Mr. Bond.

Like most self-styled critics, legless men who teach swimming, Mr. Bond is very good at convincing acorns that they will never be oaks (that's the playwright Christopher Fry, by the way, from a lovely essay on criticism he delivered some 40 years ago-how little the world has changed). I cannot wait to review Mr. Bond's first published book. If there is one.

This is the second version of my review. I do not want Mr Judge to hate me. ;) I was too harsh, Mr Judge. I appreciate your feedback. I will try to improve my reviews.

In fact I do like to write and I encourage you to keep on writing and publishing. Maybe I am not the best critic in the world, but I try to be honest and fair. And as a matter of fact, I encourage EVERYONE to try new things and take risks. That is what makes life interesting. I congratulate you.

In the book, we are given many interesting stories, facts, anecdotes and opinions (yes, I leave this in, though after 18 months, I do not remember the particular item that jumped out at me - I will try to find it an update this review) about the perception and measurement of the passage of time.

As I said earlier, the writing is quite poetic moves along well.

I enjoy reading books like this and do wish the author had included a bibliography and/or footnotes. A lot of work went into his research and he should get the credit. A book setting forth information as 'history' should have some supporting documentation. My comment about 'scholastic effort' was poorly worded. I probably wrote that after grading a stack of my students research papers.

If the author had documented his book as well as he did his response to my review, I would have had nothing to complain about.

I am sure William Shakespeare, Shelby Foote and Robert Browning would love this book.

As a general reader, I liked the author's poetical, appreciative and sometimes fascinatingly historical, journey thru the months of the year, from antique times onward. Beneath the simplicity of style lies the author's spirit, wisdom and humor - and I think you can't get all the information on the first reading. Besides the months & seasons, there's the holidaze celebrations. In all, this is an imaginative book.

Everyone should read this book. It takes a lot of talent to write a non-fiction book full of history and facts that reads like an engaging descriptive fiction novel. Love it. People go through their lives never questioning WHY they do things a certain way. Where did the names of our months come from? Why do we make such a big deal out of a rabbit on a day that supposedly commemorates the resurrection of Jesus? I hope Michael Judge is busy working on more novels because if he is- I can't wait to read them.