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The GLC essentially ignores any concept of annual season. As you have seen, different cultures define seasons in different ways, which typically vary with geographical latitude and local climatic conditions, or simply do not recognize the concept at all. The GLC is therefore a culturally neutral calendar in that respect. |
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The GLC does not define, or redefine, the unit of day, so assume the use of the Gregorian method of defining the day to start at midnight. This convention is an interesting one for a lunar calendar, since lunar calendars frequently define the day to begin at sunset, in order to better observe the phase of the moon. |
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9.12.5.2.2
Historical Background |
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There is very little historical background in this case. Mr. Meyer reports that his interest in lunar calendars was piqued by a lecture, and that GLC started life as a personal project to produce an accurate lunar calendar. This work was done in 1993 and 1994 and revisions were made in 1995. |
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The bulk of the research, according to Mr. Meyer, was the determination of a best fit for new moons, as described in the preceding section. |
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Mr. Meyer defines two days of observance for the GLC. The first is New Year's Day and the second is Xochiquetzal Day. The reason for selecting the 24th month (corresponding to the 24th letter of the alphabet, X) as the month to receive the intercalary leap day is the tradition that the Aztecs held a festival in honor of this goddess every eight (solar) years. This period is approximately equal to the length of four GLC calendric years, so it was considered appropriate to select this month. |
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See the SCDTL text on the CD for the discussion of the code. |
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The primary purpose of this section is to introduce a calendar, which requires a return to first principles in order to construct a calendar from the beginning. |
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Mars is the only other planet in our solar system that may conceivably be terraformed into a world suitable for long-term human habitation, given the technology now available. Of the other inner planets in the local solar system, both Venus and Mercury are orbitally constrained in ways that produce rotational periods for which the concepts of day and year are simply not relevant calendric concepts. |
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