POST 149 ADJUTANT | BILL STINTSMAN

And so it begins, another celebratory loop around the sun.  Once upon a time, portions of the Christian religion celebrated “The Feast of Annunciation” on March 25^th as the official beginning of each “New Year”, others thought it was December 25^th.  And still others said it was September.  Somewhere between 715 and 673 BCE, Roman king Pompilius decided and decreed that the Janus, the Roman god of all beginnings, would mark the beginning of each year.  Between his reign and the year 1752, the start of each year was in flux depending on where you were on the planet.  Then we have the “Lunar New Year”, which is a horse of a different color when it comes to solidifying an annual start date because it has variability attached to the new moon cycle. 

The confusion about annual start and end dates has not been lost on The American Legion.  From July through November of 2023, you renew for 2024 and your card is effectively good for as many as 18 months, right?  Well, technically.  But this history lesson is actually for those of you holding a membership card that says 2023.  Technically, as of December 31^st, 2023, your membership in The American Legion officially expired; however, like the Lunar New Year, there is variability.  The Legion gives you a 30-day renewal grace period that officially expires on January 31^st.  So, technically, on February 1^st, your membership in The American Legion officially and legally expires.  When you renew on or after February 1^st, 2024, you are technically a NEW MEMBER, which officially restarts your consecutive membership years at one (1) (for those of you that find this item important), and theoretically means you have to be voted back into your local Post by the membership at a general meeting, all because you are a new member.  How many of you knew that?  (All these technicalities.)  Let the moon dictate the size of the tides, not your membership.  Renew now before you have to start over.