Uncommon Common Year?!

The year 2012 is a common year.

Having said that, let me first greet you all Happy New Year!

By common, I don’t mean ordinary. This new year will be another extraordinary year, like the past year. But before talking about why I think 2012 is going to be an uncommon year, let me explain.

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A common year, in books, is simply an ordinary year of 365 days, not a leap year. It has exactly 52 weeks plus one day. So then the next new year (2013) is one day of the week later.

A common year always begins and ends on the same day of the week. For example, 2012 began on a Sunday and will end on a Monday. That is because 2012 is a leap year.

•2013 will begin on a Tuesday and end on a Tuesday. 

•2014 will begin on a Wednesday and end on a Wednesday. 

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These facts are based on the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, which we are using in most parts of the world. 

It is the internationally accepted calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582. 

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So why did I say 2012 will be uncommon and extraordinary?

Well, last year, we saw so many extraordinary things that happened in this country and other countries. To name a few:

•Terrible floods that killed thousands of people and swept away homes and structures

•Deadly earthquakes of magnitude 6 and above that destroyed many places

•Ugly wars, conflicts, and uprising that made people run away from their homes

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Those were the big things which came out of the newspapers and reported on television.

There are thousands of others which may not even merit any mention on media. These are the good deeds that come from children all over the country!  

During and after Typhoon Sendong blasted Mindanao, many children in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao schools came together to send help to the flooding victims in the form of old and news clothes, linens, groceries, rice, cash, and many others. Some even sent their savings and allowance.

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Goods deeds like these are done by kids in other forms every day in many places.

I see children throw their garbage in trash bins without being told. 

I see children sharing their toys and snacks with the less fortunate.

I see children lending their books to classmates who couldn’t afford to buy them

Yes, I often see many children doing little good deeds at every turn.

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There will be many more good deeds in 2012 that we will never know about, but they will be done by compassionate, thoughtful children anyway. Now, that is uncommon—and certainly extraordinary!

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