Different types of Calendars worldwide

Do you know that the calendar we use is not a single type of calendar people use around the world?

Because there are so many different cultures. Most cultures have their own perception of time and their own calendar. That should be obvious.

Yes, we have multiple calendar. These are around 40 calendars worldwide.

If we  categories these calendars, they are under 3 types namely; Lunisolar, Solar and Lunar calendar.

Also, the most known calendars worldwide are; Gregorian, Islamic and the Chinese calendar.

The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used civil calendar in the world. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582.

Although the Gregorian calendar has become the international civil calendar, the Julian calendar was still used by some countries in 1900s. Some churches still use it.

 The Gregorian and Julian Calendars

People says, Julian calendar was introduced before the Gregorian.  In 46 B.C.  Julius Caesar implemented the Julian calendar and In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, hence, replacing the Julian calendar. Both these calendars are Roman and solar calendars too.

Gregorian calendar is the international civil calendar. Most of the countries have their own calendars but they still use the Gregorian calendars too for their administrative work. The calendar has 12 months in total with 365 days for a common year and 366 days for a leap year.

According to  Gregorian calendar, we celebrate the new years on the 1st of January every year. The Julian calendar adopted the 1st January as the beginning date of the year. This date has remained in place even with the Gregorian calendar.

The Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar.

Therefore Romans used their gods, emperors and kings as names of the months on the calendar. The months of the Gregorian/Julian calendars are explained as follows;

JANUARY –  This name was in honor of the god Janus, the god of the beginning and of the end.

FEBRUARY – comes from the Latin word februare or to purify. It does not celebrate a god but was named in reference to the Roman feast of purification. Which was basically to expel the evil spirits and to purify the city thereby bringing health and fertility.

MARCH – was actually considered the first month of the year in the old Roman calendar, and is named in honor of the god of war Mars.

APRIL – (Aprilis in Latin) the meaning is unclear, some historians believe that it comes from the Etruscan word Apru meaning the goddess Aphrodite, thereby celebrating the goddess Venus (the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite) the goddess of love and fertility.

MAY– Honored the goddess Maia, the goddess of spring and plants.

JUNE – named to honor of the goddess Juno. Juno was the wife of Jupiter, the god of light and sky and the protector of the state and its laws.

JULY & AUGUST  – These months were named after Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus respectively.

SEPTEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER – It seems as though the Romans stopped naming months after gods and emperors and named these months after the number of month they were.

SEPTEMBER – (from septem, seven in Latin) was the seventh month of the year in the old Roman calendar.

OCTOBER – (from octo or eight in Latin) was the eighth month of the year (remember the Roman calendar started with March).

NOVEMBER -(from novem or nine in latin) was the ninth month of the year.

DECEMBER -(from decem or ten in Latin) was the tenth and last month of the year in the old Roman calendar.

The Islamic Or Hijri Calendar-

 Islamic calendar is also known as  Muslim, or Hijri calendar.

This is a lunar calendar which has  12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days.

The Islamic calendar is base on the motion of the Moon.  The calendar started in AD 622 during the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.

The first day of the year is on the first day of Muharram, which is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Although, some Islamic people prefer determining the new year by local sightings of the Moon.

The 12 months of Islamic or hijri calendar are as following:

1) Muharram

2) Safar

3) First Rabi

4) Second Rabi

5) First Jamada

6) Second Jamada

7) Rajab

8) Shaban

9)Ramadan

10) Shawwal

11) Dhu al-Qadah

12) Dhu al-Ḥijjah

 The Lunar and Traditional Chinese Calendars-

Although China uses the Gregorian calendar for administrative purposes, but Chinese calendar is still used for festivals, such as Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn. The Lunar calendar contains both the cycle of the moon and cycle of the sun. That is why Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar.

The moon takes about 29.5 days to cycle around the Earth, which is one month according to the Chinese. Therefore, each month starts on the day of the new moon. There are still 12 months in a year. The Lunar calendar has 29-30 days in  months. This is a total of 353 days in a year. Every 30 years, there’s 11 leap years with 355 days a year.

It is also used by other East Asian countries including Korea, Thailand ,Vietnam and Japan.

Names of Chinese Lunar Months

Ancient Chinese people named each lunar month according to what they or nature traditionally did in that month. See below:

 Chines New year

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. Chinese months are calculated by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people  from china celebrate this festival very enthusiastically and plan a lot of things to do during  the New Year.

 Chinese Years and the Chinese Zodiac

Chinese zodiac possesses 12 part cycle which are divided into years rather than months. According to Chinese Astrology, the animals typifying a particular year decides your disposition towards others and how others perceive you.

Each Chinese calendar year has a Chinese zodiac animal associated with it, in a cycle of 12 animal signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.

Chinese Zodiac Signs, Birth Chart & Astrology

The Names of the Chinese Calendar as follows:

1. The Farming Calendar
2. The Lunar Calendar
3. The Former Calendar
4. The Traditional Calendar

List of old calendars

If you read history of the calendars you can find the same calendars as mentioned below. This is a list of calendars which Includes historical calendars and proposed ones. Historical calendars are often grouped into larger categories.

List of old calendars as follows: