Daniel Stange de Acatl
Posted March 19 2026
Did you ever ask why the calendar that we use today was started in 1583? Why the first month begins in January, which is barely a few weeks into the winter. Why the second month, was chosen to be the shortest? When you consider that the Gregorian Monks who developed the calendar spoke Latin; it begs to question why the words Septimo, Octivo, Noveno, Decimo (7th, 8th, 9th, 10th) were pushed to the end and are the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth months of the year. Were those monks ignorant or intentionally making things unmatched?
According to letters among the priests of the Vatican, the Mayan and Aztec calendar systems were so advanced that they felt a need to improve the Juliano Calendar that was used in Spain and most of Europe during the expansion period. They attempted to align the year to when Christ was born. Ethiopian scholars today tell us that the year is properly 2018. Other biblical historical issues are now surfacing from Ethiopia because they have unearthed older scriptures that previous bible historians never consulted. Catholic churches in Ethiopia are older than the Vatican in case you didn’t know that. Ethiopia is also one of the only African cultures that was not colonized by European expansion before the industrial age.
I dare not divulge into an article of religious perspectives. My commentary today is about the reasoning of putting Spring as a proper starting point for the annual count. Mayan and Aztec calendars begin in the spring, as did many other older cultures around the world. The Spring, is the time of rebirth in nature and the way we relate to the earth reflects a great deal on the way we relate to one another. We begin to plant new seeds and we turn over the top soil to reconstitute the bacteria and microbes in the soil that will help our seeds grow. Top soil that was packed down over the winter from the snow and ice.
Most urban centers today are becoming involved with local food producing spaces. Agriculture is always evolving and people that work with plants are more grounded, their ambitions are aligned to benefits for the greater good of society. Not only by preparing for a potential collapse of global markets and having a plan to sustain feeding people in their communities. Today’s local urban grower is likely more aware of the nutritional value of local grown food that does not require long chains of transportation.
We find a growing social and cultural ambition to return to harmony with mother nature. Some people use tree hugging as a grounding technique. A grandma said to me, just walk outside barefoot in the earth. She asked me, “if you never walk on the earth barefoot, how will the mother earth recognize you?” Just like our fingerprint has a distinct design, also our foot prints carry our anatomical signature. The most important factor in harmonizing with nature is to understand our own nature.
Human nature is very easily understood through the biological process. Just as all mammals have a specific gestation period and thereby a biological lifespan. You have heard that a dog year is like seven years to us. Well, a dog is pregnant for only two months! An Elephant is pregnant for 22 months!! That’s why they live so long. So, the human is gestated in 9-months (almost 10) but then we celebrate our birthday every twelve months. So, right there from the start we are removed from our natural state.
In an annual cycle, the earth goes through four seasons; spring-summer-autumn-winter. Each season lasting about 91 days. But the human being has a 260 day cycle, so our seasons are only 65 days each. So, biologically you might be in a period of winter when you should be resting; but the spring air is fresh, and you are trying to plant new seeds with your life and nothing seems to be taking root. Honestly, in the plastic culture of today’s digital world, there are few people that can actually tune into their biological clocks. But you get the meaning of what I am writing about. Timing is everything when it comes to success.
Timing is also a biological necessity. The tree knows when to bud and begin to make its leaves, or blossom its flowers. The tree is also halfway under the ground and thereby much more deeply rooted to the earth and her cycles than you are. I have said before that WE do not move through time, but time moves through us. Just as your body knows when to begin puberty or how to change your hair gray.
Even down to the tiniest cycles of thought or story sharing. Things have a beginning, some stuff in the middle and an end. To find harmony and to be effective you can align with the natural processes of your own nature. The season of spring is beginning, but does that mean that you have to start something new? Maybe there are projects you need to finish? Maybe the fruits of your labor need to be collected and shared or stored away for winter? Maybe you need to rest and rebuild from deep within?
Next week is a story of Huitzilopochtli, that describes when we are at rest and how to step into renewal. See something beautiful in your day, even if you have to convince yourself. If you are not tuned with your biological clock do the math. We are all unique individuals that fit together with the human family in our own way. Tlazokamati.
Danny Stange de Acatl is a Denver Native and Cultural activist that serves his community on various levels.
