United Nations – Calendar Reform (1954)

Calendar Reform – United Nations, Observance of Sabbath (1954)

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, in July 1954, passed a resolution calling upon the Secretary General of the United Nations to canvass all governments as to their opinion on a plan for calendar reform.

Such plan for calendar reform proposes that every year be uniform of 52 weeks, and that the 365th day in every ordinary year and two days in every leap year be neither counted as, nor given the name of, one of the seven days of the week, but be designated as “blank” day.

The laws of Judaism as prescribed in the Ten Commandments, require the observance of the Sabbath every seventh day in unbroken rotation, and the adoption of the proposed “blank” day device would result in a shifting Sabbath and would confront Jews with a serious dilemma in the observance of the fixed Sabbath.

The adoption of the proposed calendar would abridge the right of citizens to the free exercise of their religion guaranteed to all by the Constitution of the United States.

National Women’s League protests against the adoption of any reform of the calendar which would destroy the immemorially fixed periodicity of the Sabbath.

We urge that the United States Government oppose this calendar reform.