Why didn't England and American colonies adopt the Gregorian Calendar until almost 175 yrs after it was made?

Question

It seems like such a long time to wait. Why didn't they just adopt it right away?

Answer 1

The Gregorian calendar was established and named after a catholic pope - Pope Gregory XIII to be precise. That was back in the year 1582. It took a few years for many countries to align their own calendars with that one, but many did at or near that time.

Britain, as you mention, was one of the holdouts. Their reasons for this seem to be largely a statement of independence from the authority of Rome. Remember, Henry VIII had a big tussle with the Catholic church only a few years before and was excommunicated in 1533. England had its OWN church now, and wanted to have nothing to do with Rome and their Catholics. Thus it wasn't adopted until 1752 (219 years after) by which time calendar reform had actually become a political issue of note.

The American colonies founded by Britain followed its lead, of course. And America as a nation wouldn't exist until after the calendars changed anyway.

It may surprise you that even though pretty much all nations have accepted the Gregorian calendar (some much later - Greece waited until 1923), many churches STILL refuse to acknowledge it, again for religious reasons. These use a 'revised Julian calendar' or a version of the old one.

Answer 2

sure, certainly. It replace into the Puritan, Oliver Cromwell, who banned Christmas in England. The Puritans nonetheless get a undesirable press for their loss of licentious merry-making, yet once you have been in England at that ingredient and had witnesses the carry-on with the predominantly Catholic human beings, you have gotten sympathised. His act of 1651 declared, "No remark would be had of the 5 and twentieth day of December, oftentimes called Christmas-Day." as quickly as English kings and queens have been given returned in skill, Christmas celebrations began up returned. The Scottish Reformation went extra easily there than in England and the Scottish human beings did not prefer Oliver Cromwell to restrict Christmas for them. They effectively did it themselves. It replace into in basic terms interior the Nineteen Fifties, with the Anglicization of Scotland, that Christmas took carry in Scotland. To on the present time, you will in basic terms locate the as a rule English inspired inhabitants of Scotland making merry on December twenty 5th. There are nonetheless strongholds interior the Presbyterian church that make no fuss approximately Christmas day. whether, you do not have found out that the date would be shown from the Bible to be the in all probability date for the theory of the word of God in Mary's womb. And in Judaism, the date of a newborn's start is measured from its theory, not its start.

Answer 3

They liked the old one better ..........


or


Maybe they had a lot of prints with the old one and it wasn't a good marketing idea to change it.... :))