The Year in Numbers

I realized that there is no way to determine the current year on my blog! I mention the current year on the landing page for the calendar, but no way to find out for yourself. Here is a page (of maybe not-so-fun math) to get you what you need.

• Drop 20, Add 20 [I.E.]
• To find the current year in the Imperial Era calendar, drop the initial 20 & replace it with 33, then add 20 to the current secular year. Ex: 2018 ➡️ 3318 (change the 20 to 33) ➡️ 3338 (add twenty).
• Remember the new year in the northern hemisphere happens on March 21st, so if you are still in January, February, or the early part of March, subtract one year to have the correct I.E. year. Ex: January 2016 ➡️ 3316 ➡️ 3316 + 20 = 3336 ➡️ subtract one year: 3335. It will become 3336 after March 21st, 2016.
• If you are in the southern hemisphere and celebrate the new year in September to match the spring equinox, you will use September 23rd as the cut off. Before September 23rd, be sure to subtract one year. Ex: June 2005 ➡️ 3305 ➡️ 3305 + 20 = 3325 ➡️ subtract one year: 3324. It will become 3325 after September 23rd, 2005.
• This method works for earlier and later years, but you'll have to pay attention: from 1980-2079 (one hundred years) you can drop the first two numbers and replace them with 33 but anything earlier or later will need to be replaced with a slightly different number. This works in 100-year spans:

·        2080-2179 = 34

·        1980-2079 = 33

·        1880-1979 = 32

·        1780-1879 = 31

·        1680-1779 = 30

·        1580-1679 = 29

·        and so on.

•  Ex: November 1903 ➡️ 3203 ➡️ 3203 + 20 = 3223.
• See the last bullet point under Add It Up below for an additional calculation method.
  
  
  
• Just Subtract [a.L.]
• To find the current year in the a.L. style (après Lourdes, counting the years from the apparitions of Mary at Lourdes, France), you will have to subtract the year 1858 from the current year (1858 is the year the apparitions took place). The same rules concerning the new year apply: if you are in the months before your cut off date (northern or southern hemisphere), subtract one year from the total. Ex: 2022 – 1858 = 164, but as I am writing this before March 21st in the northern hemisphere, I have to subtract one year, so the current year is 163.
• Since this is a simple subtraction, there are no adjustments to be made for much later time periods; however, dates before 1858 would have to be marked as before Lourdes (ex: 1800 would be 58 years before Lourdes). I am not aware of a specific abbreviation for this, but b.L. might work (as, funnily enough ‘avant Lourdes’ would result in the same abbreviation.)
  
  
  
• Add It Up [I.A., T.A., + I.E.]
• Use this method for both the Iron Age (I.A.) and Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (T.A.) dates
• For these two dates, we actually have to add the starting year to our current secular year. The I.A. date's beginning year is 3102 B.C. on the secular calendar; the T.A. year is a little unclear, but the Madrian choice was 1732 BC (see What Year is it Anyway for two other possible dates for the Temple's founding). Whenever we’re dealing with B.C. and A.D., we’re dealing with two different sides of the numberline. That means that we count down 3,102 years until ‘year zero’, where we start counting up to our current year. Therefore, we need to add the two to have the total number of years that have elapsed since the starting year. Add the start date 3102 to our current secular year to reach the current I.A. year (ex. 3,102 + 2022 = 5,124).
• This method works for any given A.D. year. If you need to know what a B.C. year would be on the I.A. calendar, we’d use the same method for finding the year as we would for the a.L. date. Remember to subtract a year from the total when necessary as in the above methods.
• We can also use this method for the I.E. calendar: the start date on the secular calendar for I.E. would be 1320 B.C. Adding this start date to the current secular year will also give you the current year.

And there you go!

Until I or another come up with a calendar widget that will automatically display the year, remember to drop 20, add 20 (or whatever your chosen year date needs!) and carry on.

~*~