List of calendars

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This is a list of calendars . Included are historical calendars as well as proposed ones. Historical calendars are often grouped into larger categories by cultural sphere or historical period; thus O'Neil (1976) distinguishes the groupings Egyptian calendars (Ancient Egypt), Babylonian calendars (Ancient Mesopotamia), Indian calendars (Hindu and Buddhist traditions of the Indian subcontinent), Chinese calendars and Mesoamerican calendars. These are not specific calendars but series of historical calendars undergoing reforms or regional diversification.

Contents

In Classical Antiquity, the Hellenic calendars inspired the Roman calendar, including the solar Julian calendar introduced in 45 BC. Many modern calendar proposals, including the Gregorian calendar introduced in 1582 AD, contains modifications from that of the Julian calendar.

List of calendars

In the list below, specific calendars are given, listed by calendar type (solar, lunisolar or lunar), time of introduction (if known), and the context of use and cultural or historical grouping (if applicable). Where appropriate, the regional or historical group (Jewish calendar, Hijri calendar, Sikh, Mayan, Aztecan, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, Hindu, Buddhist, Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican, Hellenic, Julian or Gregorian-derived) is noted.

Calendars fall into four types: lunisolar, solar, lunar and seasonal. Most pre-modern calendars are lunisolar. The seasonal calendars rely on changes in the environment (e.g., "wet season", "dry season") rather than lunar or solar observations. The Islamic and some Buddhist calendars are lunar, while most modern calendars are solar, based on either the Julian or the Gregorian calendars.

Some calendars listed are identical to the Gregorian calendar except for substituting regional month names or using a different calendar epoch. For example, the Thai solar calendar (introduced 1888) is the Gregorian calendar using a different epoch (543 BC) and different names for the Gregorian months (Thai names based on the signs of the zodiac).

NameTypeGroupIntroductionUsageComments
Hebrew/Jewish Calendar lunisolarCanaan/MesopotamianCirca 3761 BCWestern WorldIt is based on lunar months with the intercalation of an additional month every 2 to 3 years to bring the cycle closer to the solar cycle. It is used to determine the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits (dates that commemorate the death of a relative), daily Psalm readings, and many other holidays, festivals and ceremonial uses.
Egyptian calendar fixed (365 days)EgyptianBronze Age Middle Kingdom The year is based on the heliacal rising of Sirius (Sothis) and divided into the three seasons of akhet (Inundation), peret (Growth) and shemu (Harvest). The heliacal rising of Sothis returned to the same point in the calendar every 1,460 years (a period called the Sothic cycle ). [1]
Umma calendar lunisolarMesopotamian Bronze Age Sumer/MesopotamiaRecorded in Neo-Sumerian records (21st century BC), presumably based on older (Ur III) sources.
Pentecontad calendar solarMesopotamianBronze Age Amorites A Bronze Age calendar in which the year is divided into seven periods of fifty days, with an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days for synchronisation with the solar year.
Four Seasons and Eight Nodessolar Chinese Bronze Age(?)ChinaThe years is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into a festival and three months. The start and middle of each season is the key node of the year.
Gezer Calendar unknownMesopotamian1000 BCIsrael/CanaanThe years are divided into monthly or bi-monthly periods and attributes to each a duty such as harvest, planting, or tending specific crops.
Roman calendar lunisolar Roman 713 BC Roman Republic Based on the reforms introduced by Numa Pompilius in c. 713 BC.
Six Ancient Calendarslunisolar Chinese Iron Age ChinaSix classical (Zhou era) calendars: Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Xia, Yin, Zhou's calendar and Lu.
Nisg̱a'a seasonal / lunisolarIndigenous North America[ citation needed ] Nisg̱a'a The Nisga’a calendar revolves around harvesting of foods and goods used. The original year followed the various moons throughout the year.
Inuit seasonalIndigenous North America[ citation needed ] Inuit The Inuit calendar is based on between six and eight seasons as solar and lunar timekeeping methods do not work in the polar regions.
Haab' fixed (365 days)Pre-Columbian (Maya)1st millennium BC[ citation needed ]Maya
Tzolk'in fixed (260 days)Pre-Columbian (Maya)1st millennium BC[ citation needed ]Maya
Xiuhpohualli fixed (365 days)Pre-Columbian (Aztec)[ citation needed ]Aztecs
Tonalpohualli fixed (260 days)Pre-Columbian (Aztec)[ citation needed ]Aztecs
Attic calendar lunisolar (354/384 days) Hellenic 6th century BC Classical Athens The year begins with the new moon after the summer solstice. It was introduced by the astronomer Meton in 432 BC. Reconstructed by Academy of Episteme.
Old Persian calendar lunisolar(?) Iranian 4th century BC(?) Persian Empire Based on earlier Babylonian/Mesopotamian models
Seleucid calendar lunisolarHellenic/Babylonian4th century BC Seleucid Empire Combination of the Babylonian calendar, ancient Macedonian (Hellenic) month names and the Seleucid era.
Genesis Calendarlunisolar Chinese Han dynasty ChinaIntroduced the "month without mid-climate is intercalary" rule; based on a solar year of 365385⁄1539 days and a lunar month of 2943⁄81 days (19 years=235 months=693961⁄81 days).
Ptolemaic calendar solarEgyptian238 BC Ptolemaic Egypt The Canopic reform of 238 BC introduced the leap year every fourth year later adopted in the Julian calendar. The reform eventually went into effect with the introduction of the "Alexandrian calendar" (or Julian calendar) by Augustus in 26/25 BC, which included a 6th epagomenal day for the first time in 22 BC.
Julian calendar solarRoman45 BCWestern WorldRevision of the Roman Republican calendar, in use in the Roman Empire and the Christian Middle Ages, and remains in use as liturgical calendar of Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Kurdish calendar solarKurdish Kurdistan Kurdistan Region is a calendar used in the Kurdistan region of Iraq alongside the Islamic and Gregorian calendar. [2] The First day in this month is called "Newroz" it means "New Day". The start of the calendar is marked by the Battle of Nineveh, a conquest of the Assyrians by the Medes and the Babylonians in 612 BC. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Coptic calendar solarEgyptian1st century[ citation needed ] Coptic Orthodox Church Based on both the Ptolemaic calendar and the Julian calendar
Ge'ez calendar solarEthiopian1st century[ citation needed ]Ethiopia, Ethiopian Christians, Eritrea, Eritrean Christiansthe calendar associated with Ethiopian and Eritrean Churchs, based on the Coptic calendar
Berber calendar solarJulianIn Roman timesNorth AfricaJulian calendar used for agricultural work.
Qumran calendrical texts fixed (364 days)—c. 1st century[ citation needed ] Second Temple Judaism Description of a division of the year into 364 days, also mentioned in the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch (the "Enoch calendar").
Coligny calendar lunisolarGauls/CeltsIron Age Gauls/Celts Early calendar used by Celtic peoples prior to the introduction of the Julian calendar, on a bronze plaque c. AD 200 but likely some centuries older.
Zoroastrian calendar fixed (365 days)Iranian3rd century Sassanid Persia Based on both the Old Persian and Seleucid (Hellenic) calendars. Introduced in AD 226, reformed in AD 272, and again several times in the 5th to 7th centuries.
Chinese Calendar, Dàmíng originlunisolar Chinese 510[ citation needed ]ChinaCreated by Zu Chongzhi, most accurate calendar in the world at its invention[ citation needed ]
Korean calendar lunisolarChinese-derived6th centuryKoreaIntroduced from China, went through Korea to Japan. [7]
Japanese calendar lunisolarChinese-derived6th century[ citation needed ]JapanUmbrella term for calendars historically and currently used in Japan, in the 6th century derived from the Chinese calendar.[ citation needed ]
Chinese Calendar, Wùyín originlunisolar Chinese 619ChinaFirst Chinese calendar to use the true moon motion
Islamic calendar (Lunar Hijri calendar)lunarMuslim632IslamBased on the observational lunisolar calendars used in Pre-Islamic Arabia. Remains in use for religious purposes in most of the Islamic world.
Pyu calendar lunisolarHindu/Buddhist-derived640[ dubious – discuss ] mainland Southeast Asia Traditional calendar of Southeast Asia, in use until the 19th century. Traditionally said to originate in 640 (the calendar era) in Sri Ksetra Kingdom, one of the Burmese Pyu city-states.
Byzantine calendar solarJulian988 Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Julian calendar with Anno Mundi era in use c. 691 to 1728.
Armenian calendar fixed (365 days)Iranianmedieval[ citation needed ] medieval Armenia Calendar used in medieval Armenia and as liturgical calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Derived from the Zoroastrian (or related medieval Iranian calendars such as the Sogdian/Choresmian ones [8] ). It uses the era AD 552. In modern Armenian nationalism, an alternative era of 2492 BC is sometimes used.
Bulgar calendar solarBulgarianBronze Age Volga Bulgaria A reconstruction based on a short 15th-century transcript in Church Slavonic called Nominalia of the Bulgarian Khans, which contains 10 pairs of calendar terms.
Florentine calendar solarJulianMedievalRepublic of FlorenceVariant of the Julian calendar in use in medieval Florence
Pisan calendar solarJulianMedievalRepublic of PisaVariant of the Julian calendar in use in medieval Pisa
Tamil calendar solarHinduAncient Tamil Nadu The Hindu calendar used in Tamil Nadu
Kollam Era sidereal solarHindu825 Kerala It is believed that the era was started by the Syrian Christian saints Mar Sabor and Mar Proth who arrived in Kollam in the 9th century CE. This event is recorded in the Kollam Tarisappalli copper plates issued to them. [9] [10] [11] The news of the physical disappearance of Sri Adi Shankaracharya in 820 CE at Kedarnath reached the Malabar coast only a few years later. It is believed that Kerala began the Malayalam era in 825 CE in his memory. [12] [13] [14] According to Hermann Gundert, Kollam era started as part of erecting a new Shiva Temple in Kollam and because of the strictly local and religious background, the other regions did not follow this system at first. Once Kollam port emerged as an important trade center, however, the other principalities also started following the new system of calendar. This theory backs the remarks of Ibn Battuta as well. [9] [15] The Kollam era may also be attributed to the legend of Paraśurāma, an incarnation of Vishnu. It is sometimes divided into cycles of 1,000 years reckoned from 1176 BCE. Thus, 825 CE would have been the first year of the era's third millennium. [16]
Nepali calendar solarHindu/ BuddhistMedievalNepalOne of the Hindu calendars
Nepal Sambat lunisolarBuddhist/ Hindu9th centuryNepalA lunisolar Buddhist calendar traditional to Nepal, recognition in Nepal in 2008.
Bengali calendar lunisolarBengaliMedieval Bengal Revised in 1987.
Thai lunar calendar lunisolarHindu/BuddhistMedievalThailandA Buddhist calendar
Pawukon calendar fixed (210 days)Hindu[ citation needed ]Bali
Old Icelandic calendar solar10th centurymedieval IcelandPartly inspired by the Julian calendar and partly by older Germanic calendar traditions. Leap week calendar based on a year of 364 days.
Vietnamese calendar lunisolarChinese-derived10th centuryVietnamAfter Vietnam regained independence following the third Chinese domination of Vietnam, the following dynasties established their own calendars based on Chinese prototypes, and every subsequent dynasty had appointed officers to man and create the calendar to be used in the realm.
Jalali calendar solarIranian1079Seljuk SultanateA calendar reform commissioned by Sultan Jalal al-Din Malik Shah I
Hebrew calendar lunisolarBabylonian/Seleucid-derived11th/12th century Judaism Recorded by Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah , resulting from various reforms and traditions developing since Late Antiquity. The Anno Mundi era gradually replaced the Seleucid era in Rabbinical literature in the 11th century.
Tibetan calendar lunisolarBuddhist/Chinese-derived13th centuryTibetThe Kalacakra, a Buddhist calendar introduced in 13th-century Tibet
Seasonal Instructionsolar Chinese 1281ChinaBased on a solar year of 365.2425 (equal to the Gregorian year)
Runic calendar solarJulian13th centurySwedenA written representation of the Metonic cycle used in medieval and early modern Sweden, allowing to calculate the dates of the full moons relative to the Julian date. The introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Sweden in 1753 rendered the runic calendars unusable.
Six Imperial Calendars (ß)solar Chinese Ming dynasty China In use 1368-1644
Incan calendar lunisolarPre-Columbian15th century Inca Empire
Muisca calendar lunisolarPre-Columbian15th century Muisca Complex lunisolar calendar with three different years, composed of months divided into thirty days. After the Spanish conquest of the Muisca Confederation in present-day central Colombia in 1537 first replaced by the European Julian and as of 1582 the Gregorian calendar.
Chula Sakarat lunisolar Burmese 16th centurySoutheast Asia
Gregorian calendar solarJulian-derived1582worldwideIntroduced as a reform of the Julian calendar in the Roman Catholic church, since the 20th century in de facto use worldwide.
Javanese calendar lunarIslamic influenced1633JavaBased on the Hindu calendar using the Saka era (78 CE), but changed by Sultan Agung of Mataram its method of counting of years from solar years to lunar years as per the Islamic calendar.
Seasonal Constitutionsolar Chinese 1645ChinaFirst Chinese Calendar to use the true motion of the sun.
Swedish calendar solarJulian-derived1700SwedenPart of the controversy surrounding the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, in use 1700–1712.
Astronomical year numbering solarJulian-derived1740AstronomyA mixture of Julian and Gregorian calendar, giving dates before 1582 in the Julian calendar, and dates after 1582 in the Gregorian calendar, counting 1 BC as year zero, and negative year numbers for 2 BC and earlier.
French Republican Calendar solarGregorian1793First French RepublicIn use in revolutionary France 1793 to 1805.
Pancronometer solarGregorian1745—Universal Georgian Calendar proposed by Hugh Jones
Rumi calendar solarJulian1839 Ottoman Empire Julian calendar using the Hijri era introduced in the Ottoman Empire.
Positivist calendar SolarGregorian1849—Solar calendar with 13 months of 28 days.
Badí‘ calendar solar Baháʼí 1873BaháʼíUses a year of 19 months of 19 days each and a 1844 era. Also known as the "Baháʼí Calendar" or the "Wondrous Calendar".
Thai solar calendar solarGregorian1888ThailandThe Gregorian calendar but using the Buddhist Era (543 BC)
Invariable Calendar solarGregorian1900—Gregorian calendar with four 91-day quarters of 13 weeks
International Fixed Calendar solarGregorian1902—A "perpetual calendar" with a year of 13 months of 28 days each.
Minguo calendar solarGregorian1912Republic of ChinaMonths and days use the Gregorian calendar, introduced in China in 1912.
Revised Julian calendar solarJulian-derived1923some Orthodox churchescurrently synchronized with the Gregorian calendar, but different leap rule and cycle (900 years), also called Meletian calendar or Milanković calendar, after Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković who developed it.
Solar Hijri calendar solarIranian/Islamic1925Iran, Afghanistan New Year is the day of the astronomical vernal equinox. The calendar as introduced in 1925 revived Iranian month names but counted the years of the Hijri era. The era was changed in 1976 to 559 BC (reign of Cyrus the Great), but was reverted to the Hijri era after the Iranian Revolution.
Era Fascista solarGregorian1926ItalyEpoch is 29 October 1922; in use from 1926–1943
Soviet calendar solarGregorian1929Soviet UnionGregorian calendar with 5- and 6-day weeks, used during 1929 to 1940.
World Calendar solarGregorian1930—Perpetual calendar with 1–2 off-week days, preferred and almost adopted by the United Nations in 1950s
Pax Calendar solarGregorian1930— Leap week calendar
Pataphysical calendar solarGregorian1949—Absurdist variant of the Gregorian calendar by Alfred Jarry.
Indian national calendar solarGregorian-derived1957Republic of IndiaGregorian calendar with months based in traditional Hindu calendars and numbering years based on the Saka era (AD 78).
Assyrian calendar solarBabylonian1950s Assyrianism Solar calendar with an "Assyrian era" of 4750 BC, introduced in Assyrian nationalism in the 1950s
Discordian calendar solarGregorian1963 Discordianism Calendar invented in the context of the absurdist or parody religion of Discordianism, Gregorian calendar variant with a year consisting of five 73-day seasons.
World Season Calendar solarGregorian1973—Divides the year into four seasons.
Dreamspell solarMayan1990 esotericism 13 months of 28 days each, synchronized with the Maya 260-day Tzolkin, calibrated to the Chilam Balam timing systems
Tranquility CalendarsolarGregorian1989—Modification of the International Fixed Calendar, starting with Apollo 11 Moon landing on 20 July 1969 [17]
Holocene calendar solarGregorian1993—The Gregorian calendar with the era shifted by 10,000 years.
Juche era calendar solarGregorian1997 North Korea Gregorian calendar with the era 1912 (birth of Kim Il-sung)
Nanakshahi calendar solarSikh1789 Sikhism religion, Punjab Sikh Calendar numbering years based on the era 1469 (birth of Guru Nanak)
Symmetry454 solarGregorian2004— Leap week calendar with 4:5:4 weeks per month
Hanke–Henry Permanent Calendar solarGregorian2004— Leap week calendar with 30:30:31 days per month, revised in 2011 and 2016
Igbo calendar solarIndigenous West African2009 Igbo people Proposal [18] based in Igbo tradition dating back to 13th century, 13 lunar months of 28 days divided into seven 4-day periods, plus leap days.
Vira Nirvana Samvat LunisolarHindu Ancient India India/NepalThe Vira Nirvana Samvat (era) is a calendar era beginning on 7 October 527 BCE. It commemorates the Nirvana of Lord Mahaviraswami, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. This is one of the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India.

Variant month names

Regional or historical names for lunations or Julian/Gregorian months

Traditionculturecomments
Germanic calendar Germanic Medieval records of Germanic names of lunar months later equated with the Julian months.
Berber calendar Berber reconstructed medieval Berber-language names of the Julian months used in pre-Islamic (Roman era) North Africa
Lithuanian calendar Lithuania Lithuanian names for the Gregorian months and days of the week, officially recognized in 1918.
Rapa Nui calendar Easter Islands Thirteen names of lunar months recorded in the 19th century.
Xhosa calendar Xhosa people [ clarification needed ]
Turkmen Turkmenistan Turkmen names officially adopted in 2002 following Ruhnama by president-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov.
Hellenic calendars Hellenistic Greece A great variety of regional month names in Ancient Greece, mostly attested in the 2nd century BC.
Slavic calendar Slavic Local month names in various Slavic countries, based on weather patterns and conditions, and agricultural activities that take place in each respective month.
Romanian calendar Romania and Moldova Traditional names for the twelve months of the Gregorian calendar, which are usually used by the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Non-standard weeks

Traditionweek lengthcomments
Bali various
Igbo 4 daysThe traditional Igbo week consists of four market days: eke, orie, afor, and nkwo.
Yoruba 4 daysTraditional Yoruba calendar
Korea 5 daysFor traditional markets in Korea, for example, the market is open every five days.
Java - (Pasaran)5 days
Discordian 5 days
Akan 6 daysA traditional "six-day week" which combined with the Gregorian seven-day week gave rise to a 42-day cycle.
Ancient Rome 8 daysThe Roman nundinal cycle.
Burmese 8 days
Celtic 8 daysreconstructed. [19] [20]
Baltic 9 daysLinguistic reconstruction[ citation needed ]; the Gediminas Sceptre indicated that a week lasted for nine days during King Gediminas' reign.
Chinese 10 days
Egyptian Calendar 10 daysThe 10-day period was known as decans or decades
French Republican Calendar 10 days
Aztecs 13 days Trecena, division of the Tonalpohualli 260-day period

Calendaring and timekeeping standards

Non-Earth or fictional

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calendar</span> System for organizing the days of year

A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physical record of such a system. A calendar can also mean a list of planned events, such as a court calendar, or a partly or fully chronological list of documents, such as a calendar of wills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese calendar</span> Lunisolar calendar from China

The traditional Chinese calendar, is a lunisolar calendar dating from the Han dynasty that combines solar, lunar, and other cycles for various social and agricultural purposes. While the Gregorian calendar has been adopted and adapted in various ways, and is generally the basis for China's standard civic purposes, aspects of the traditional lunisolar calendar remain, including the association of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac in relation to months and years.

Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of days or months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunisolar calendar</span> Calendar with lunar month, solar year

A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, incorporating lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Earth's sky. If the sidereal year is used instead of the solar year, then the calendar will predict the constellation near which the full moon may occur. As with all calendars which divide the year into months there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months. In some cases ordinary years consist of twelve months but every second or third year is an embolismic year, which adds a thirteenth intercalary, embolismic, or leap month.

A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar months ("lunations") are synodic months and last approximately 29.53 days, making for roughly 12.37 such months in one Earth year. From excavated tally sticks, researchers have deduced that people counted days in relation to the Moon's phases as early as the Paleolithic age. Synodic months, based on the Moon's orbital period with respect to the Earth–Sun line, are still the basis of many calendars today and are used to divide the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New moon</span> First lunar phase, the definition varies

In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse.

The Julian day is the continuous count of days since the beginning of the Julian period, and is used primarily by astronomers, and in software for easily calculating elapsed days between two events.

In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.

A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar. The main other types of calendar are lunar calendar and lunisolar calendar, whose months correspond to cycles of Moon phases. The months of the Gregorian calendar do not correspond to cycles of the Moon phase.

The Hindu calendar, also called Panchanga, is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a similar underlying concept for timekeeping based on sidereal year for solar cycle and adjustment of lunar cycles in every three years, but differ in their relative emphasis to moon cycle or the sun cycle and the names of months and when they consider the New Year to start. Of the various regional calendars, the most studied and known Hindu calendars are the Shalivahana Shaka found in the Deccan region of Southern India and the Vikram Samvat (Bikrami) found in Nepal and the North and Central regions of India – both of which emphasize the lunar cycle. Their new year starts in spring. In regions such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the solar cycle is emphasized and this is called the Tamil calendar and Malayalam calendar and these have origins in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. A Hindu calendar is sometimes referred to as Panchangam (पञ्चाङ्गम्), which is also known as Panjika in Eastern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian calendar</span> Calendar used in ancient Egypt before 22 BC

The ancient Egyptian calendar – a civil calendar – was a solar calendar with a 365-day year. The year consisted of three seasons of 120 days each, plus an intercalary month of five epagomenal days treated as outside of the year proper. Each season was divided into four months of 30 days. These twelve months were initially numbered within each season but came to also be known by the names of their principal festivals. Each month was divided into three 10-day periods known as decans or decades. It has been suggested that during the Nineteenth Dynasty and the Twentieth Dynasty the last two days of each decan were usually treated as a kind of weekend for the royal craftsmen, with royal artisans free from work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar New Year</span> Beginning of a year in a lunar calendar

Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally but more widely, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendars follow the lunar phase while lunisolar calendars follow both the lunar phase and the time of the solar year. The event is celebrated by numerous cultures in various ways at diverse dates.

The history of calendars covers practices with ancient roots as people created and used various methods to keep track of days and larger divisions of time. Calendars commonly serve both cultural and practical purposes and are often connected to astronomy and agriculture.

Calendar reform or calendrical reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar design.

A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one epoch of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, it is the year 2024 as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era.

In astronomy, a Julian year is a unit of measurement of time defined as exactly 365.25 days of 86400 SI seconds each. The length of the Julian year is the average length of the year in the Julian calendar that was used in Western societies until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, and from which the unit is named. Nevertheless, because astronomical Julian years are measuring duration rather than designating dates, this Julian year does not correspond to years in the Julian calendar or any other calendar. Nor does it correspond to the many other ways of defining a year.

The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Tibet, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam as well as in Malaysia and Singapore and by Chinese populations for religious or official occasions. While the calendars share a common lineage, they also have minor but important variations such as intercalation schedules, month names and numbering, use of cycles, etc. In Thailand, the name Buddhist Era is a year numbering system shared by the traditional Thai lunar calendar and by the Thai solar calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaka era</span> Hindu calendar era

The Shaka era is a historical Hindu calendar era, the epoch of which corresponds to Julian year 78.

The Ancient Macedonian calendar is a lunisolar calendar that was in use in ancient Macedon in the 1st millennium BCE. It consisted of 12 synodic lunar months, which needed intercalary months to stay in step with the seasons. By the time the calendar was being used across the Hellenistic world, seven total embolimoi were being added in each 19 year Metonic cycle. The names of the ancient Macedonian Calendar remained in use in Syria even into the Christian era.

The Burmese calendar is a lunisolar calendar in which the months are based on lunar months and years are based on sidereal years. The calendar is largely based on an older version of the Hindu calendar, though unlike the Indian systems, it employs a version of the Metonic cycle. The calendar therefore has to reconcile the sidereal years of the Hindu calendar with the Metonic cycle's near tropical years by adding intercalary months and days at irregular intervals.

References

  1. ↑ Parker, Richard A., "The Calendars of Ancient Egypt", Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, 26. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1950.
  2. ↑ Kirmanj 2014, pp. 372–373.
  3. ↑ Kirmanj 2014, pp. 367–384.
  4. ↑ Hirschler 2001, pp. 145–166.
  5. ↑ Elis 2004, p. 193.
  6. ↑ Gunter 2009, p. 148.
  7. ↑ 이, 은성, "역법 (曆法)", Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean), Academy of Korean Studies , retrieved 2024-07-21
  8. ↑ Stern (2012) p. 179
  9. 1 2 A. Sreedhara Menon (2007) [1967]. "CHAPTER VIII - THE KOLLAM ERA". A Survey Of Kerala History. DC Books, Kottayam. pp. 104–110. ISBN   978-81-264-1578-6 . Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Kerala government website Archived 2007-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ In the Travancore State Manual, Ch:XIII, pages 49-50, by Sri. T.K. Velu Pillai according to keralainfoservice
  12. ↑ Kalady: The Triumph of Faith Over Time. Dir. Rajesh Krishnan, K. Anand, and S. Thyagarajan. Sri Shankara Advaita Research Center, Sringeri, 31 May 2010. DVD.
  13. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : sharadapeetham (25 April 2012). "Kalady: The Triumph of Faith Over Time (Rediscovery of Sri Adi Shankaracharya's Birth Place)" – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ K. V. Sarma, Kollam Era, Indian Journal of History of Science, 31(1), 1996, pp. 93-100
  15. ↑ "Kollam - Short History". Statistical Data. kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original (Short History) on 2007-11-21. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Chronology".
  17. ↑ "Tranquility Calendar, the".
  18. ↑ Angelicus M. B. Onasanya, The Urgency of Now!: Building a True Nigerian Nation
  19. ↑ Rhys (1840–1915), Sir John (1892). Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom. pp.  360–382.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ Rhys, Sir John; Brynmor-Jones, David (1900). The Welsh people: chapters on their origin, history, laws, language ... – Sir John Rhys, Sir David Brynmor Jones – Google Books. p. 220. Retrieved 2012-10-22.

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