A day to celebrate: a day out of time!


I am one of those weird adults who is really into birthdays. I think it's because I am a history nerd and revel in historically significant dates. I like to think back about what was happening exactly one thousand years ago (or exactly thirty-six years ago in today's case). From what I know about my own birth, July 25, 1978 involved an old-school doctor, lots of drugs, and most of the hospital staff watching Pete Rose break some record rather than paying much attention to my mom.

My dad has clearly spent some time on Pinterest!
In the last year, however, I learned something even cooler about July 25. It is known now in some circles as the "Day Out of Time." 

Natural time.

It makes total sense to me, but I swear it's not just because it means I was born on the most auspicious day of the year (really, I swear). Natural Time a way of organizing the days of the year based on the 13 lunar cycles of 28-days each, and it's based on the Mayan calendar.

Obviously it's a nod to the feminine, but it's also just kind of an obvious way to keep track of time. The Gregorian calendar that we use in most of the world doesn't really make a lot of sense when you think about it; it's disorderly and uneven, with months being different lengths and the full moons coming and going with nothing to do with the months (and named after a Pope, at that!).

Anyway, I don't actually know much about Natural Time. A new friend schooled me on it during a Christmas party last year, and I have done some light Googling this morning. Here's the gist:
28 days (the lunar cycle) x 13 months = 364 days

See how nicely our weeks fit inside there? 52 x 7 = 364

So this calendar is 364 days, running from July 26 to July 24 (it has something to do with Sirius, but that's a little too in-depth research for me right now).
But our year and sun cycle is 365 days, you say!

That's where the "Day Out of Time" comes into play. As new year begins on July 26, this makes July 25 a "day out of time." A day to reset... a day off from TIME! A day to reflect, recharge, renew ... 

Around the world, July 25 is celebrated as a day of harmony. It's for peace and art and all that good stuff that gets a bad rep.

And that's pretty much how I feel about birthdays anyway. It's just coincidental that I happened to have been born on the Day Out of Time.

Have fun celebrating this day of harmony, my friends. Thanks for reading and for putting up with my crazy ramblings. Now I'll aim to bring you some new music over the next year.

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