The best calendar, to date

Posted by Star-Ledger editorial board January 31, 2008 10:30PM

The Mayans and other early inhabitants of Mesoamerica didn't much bother about leap year. Or, for that matter, with memorizing pesky rhymes about 30 days hath September.

The Mayans' solar calendar was delightfully free of such fussiness. Eighteen months, each with 20 days. Plus five nameless days at the end of each year to round out the calendar to 365 days. All very straightforward and easy to keep track of.

It was the Romans who decided a leap year was necessary every fourth year to make up for the annoying fact that a year measured by the return of the sun to the same position actually takes 365.25 or so days. Leave out the leap day, and ever so slowly but surely the months shift from their appointed season. That means that eventually a month called July would occur at a time of year known for ice storms.

Fast-forward a couple thousand years and we come to February 2008, when those born in previous leap years again get to celebrate their birthdays on their day -- Feb. 29. And everyone else writes the wrong date on checks.

Those who think the Mayans had a better idea might think twice. The ancient astrologers also forecast an end-of-the-world sort of cataclysm along about Dec. 21, 2012.

Maybe leap years aren't so bad after all.