Years, Months, Days

Did you know that we track time using two different calendars. Taiwan uses both the Western calendar and the Taiwanese lunar calendar. The latter has an intimate connection to Taiwanese culture.

We commonly refer to the year as 2024 when using the Western calendar. But it can also be called the year 113. This number marks the 113th year since the establishing of the Republic of China. The republic was established at the end of the Qing Dynasty (sometimes written as Ch’ing Dynasty). The republic was established in 1911 in Nanjing (a city in eastern China) by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and continues to thrive in Taiwan today. Referring to the year as 113 is very common in everyday life.

The calendar in Taiwan also has two ways of recording the months. In the Western calendar, the year starts on New Year’s Day. We are now in the second month–February. But the lunar calendar starts each new year on the Lunar New Year’s Day. Each month has 30 days. So an extra month must be added into the calendar every two or three years. (This would be more confusing if our calendars did not have the small black writing under the numbers. Those tell us what the lunar calendar date is.)

This year, February 9 was the thirtieth day of the twelfth month. The first day of the first month of the new lunar year began on February 10.

I wonder, will we use a calendar in heaven? Or will we experience the time of eternity in a different way? It will be exciting to discover such things as we enjoy eternity in Christ’s presence.

Praise and Prayer