Indian Epigraphy c15.t12.7

c15.t12.7

3. The Julian year of 365¼ days was longer than the solar year by 11 minutes and 14 seconds so that a day came to be in excess in about 128 years. As years passed on, the Meṣa-saṅkrānti, which occurred on the 25th March in Julius Caesar's time, came to fall on the 21st March in 325 A.D. and on the 11th March in 1582 A.D. To remove this difference, Pope Gregory XIII passed an order on the 22nd February 1582 A.D. to the effect that the 5th October of the said year should be regarded as the 15th October and that the month of February should have 29 days in the year completing a century (e.g. 1600 A.D., 1700 A.D., etc.) when its figures are divisible by 400 and only 28 days when they are not so divisible. In this system, one day would be in excess in no less than 3320 years. The Pope's calendar was accepted by the Catholic countries (e.g. Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc), while the Protestant countries, originally reluctant to accept the Gregorian calendar, also ultimately accepted it. In Germany, the last ten days of the year 1699 and the year begins from January.¹ It became popular in India during the days of British occupation.