Changes

The term "Common Era" (CE) is an attempt to erase the historical basis for the primary calendar dating system in the Western world.  "Common Era" has no real meaning, and even the origin of this term is unclear.  The 1972 Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary has no entry for "Common Era." A later edition (11th) defines it as the Christian Era.

The term "Common Era" (CE) is an attempt to erase the historical basis for the primary calendar dating system in the Western world.  "Common Era" has no real meaning, and even the origin of this term is unclear.  The 1972 Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary has no entry for "Common Era." A later edition (11th) defines it as the Christian Era.

The established calendar dating system is based on the approximate birthday of [[Jesus]], and no one disputes that.  But this birth did not begin a "common" era, or any immediate change in history.  The 1997 [[Merriam-Webster]]'s Collegiate Dictionary gives a date of 1889 for the origin of the term "Common Era," but there is no indication  of who began using it then, and why.  Some claim it is a substitute for an occasional reference to the "Vulgar Era," with "vulgar" being Latin for "common" but acquiring a derogatory English meaning over time.

The established calendar dating system is based on the calculations of [[Dionysius Exiguus]] for the birthyear of [[Jesus]] relative to the foundation of Rome<ref>[http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendars.html Index to Calendars, NASA site]. The story is actually more complex, because pagan and murderer Emperor Diocletian had replaced the system that date events from the Foundation of Rome by a system based on himself, but the conversion between the then-called "A.D." (Anno Diocletian) and the foundation of Rome (Anno Urbis Conditae) was just a matter of adding an integer</ref>, and no one disputes that.  But this birth did not begin a "common" era, or any immediate change in history.  The 1997 [[Merriam-Webster]]'s Collegiate Dictionary gives a date of 1889 for the origin of the term "Common Era," but there is no indication  of who began using it then, and why.  Some claim it is a substitute for an occasional reference to the "Vulgar Era," with "vulgar" being Latin for "common" but acquiring a derogatory English meaning over time.

While use of "Common Era" attempts to erase recognition for the Christian basis of the calendar, there are not similar attempts to erase non-Christian religious names from the calendar, such as the days of the week named after Norse gods.  Numerous texts, particularly schoolbooks, have replaced "B.C./A.D." with "Common Era" symbols over the past decade.

While use of "Common Era" attempts to erase recognition for the Christian basis of the calendar, there are not similar attempts to erase non-Christian religious names from the calendar, such as the days of the week named after Norse gods.  Numerous texts, particularly schoolbooks, have replaced "B.C./A.D." with "Common Era" symbols over the past decade.