Page:The Burmese & Arakanese calendars (IA burmesearakanese00irwiiala).pdf/23

 40. The mean lunation being a small fraction over 29½ days, the Burmese ordinary months contain 29 and 30 days alternately. Their names are:

41. The remainder of the luni-solar year is made up by inserting an intercalary month at intervals. Approximately seven intercalary months are required in nineteen years. Makaranta inserts exactly seven months every nineteen years. Thandeikta makes corrections for the small fractions remaining in the cycle of Meto. The intercalary month always has 30 days. In Arakan it is inserted between Tagu and Kason, and is called Second Tagu. In Burma proper it is inserted between Wazo and Wagaung, and is called Second Wazo.

42. It is obvious that the intercalary month not only corrects the length of the year, but also corrects the accumulating error of the month to the extent of half a day. In other words, it causes the first day of every alternate succeeding month to fall one day later than it would fall if the intercalary month had not been inserted. The average length of the month is further corrected by adding a day to Nayon at irregular intervals—a little more than seven times in two cycles, 38 years. The intercalary day is never inserted except in a year which has an intercalary month.

43. The days of the month are reckoned in two series, waxing and waning. The 15th of the waxing is the civil full moon day ("labyi"). The civil new moon day is the last day of the month (14th or 15th waning, as the case may be), and is called "lagwè" (moon disappears). It is frequently in advance of the real new moon, as will be seen later.