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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."
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."
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 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 only plausible explanation is that "Common Era" is an attempt to erase recognition for the Christian basis of the calendar. But there are not similar attempts to erase non-Christian religious names in the calendar, such as the days of the week named after Norse gods.
The only plausible explanation is that "Common Era" is an attempt to erase recognition for the Christian basis of the calendar. But there are not similar attempts to erase non-Christian religious names in the calendar, such as the days of the week named after Norse gods.