Calendars of different nations. Calendar

We all count the days, some until vacation, some until the weekend, and also until an anniversary or some other important date. We owe the ability to count years, months and even days to the creators of calendars. And each of us dreams of forever capturing the happiest day or the face of a child dear to our hearts, so that when we look at the photo we know on what day, year and month this event took place. How many calendars have been created in the history of the earth? It is unlikely that even the greatest scientists can give an answer to this question with 100% accuracy. The only thing we can say with certainty is that every people who has ever lived on our planet had their own calendars that helped them keep track of time, and the design of the calendars, their form and methods of calculating time were very different from each other.

“Calendar” is translated from Latin as debt book. Its name is associated with the fact that in Ancient Rome, debtors were obliged to pay interest to the borrower on a day - kalends, which fell on the first day of the month. Initially, the calculation of large periods of time was based on the movement of large celestial bodies - the Sun and the Moon, on the basis of which lunar and solar calendars were created. Today, a calendar is a periodical publication that contains a strict sequence of days, weeks and months, and it also necessarily highlights holiday dates of various types.

Where did the first calendar originate?

The first calendar was created in Ancient Egypt. It was based on the regular floods of the Nile River, which occurred at regular intervals. The creation of the calendar was due to the fact that the Nile floods destroyed the harvest if it was not harvested on time. In addition, during the flood, the rivers brought a huge amount of fertile soil. And in order to ensure that the crop did not perish and was planted and harvested on time, the ancients developed a calendar based on the cyclical nature of the Nile flood.

Each nation had its own ways of dating important historical events. For example, some peoples tried to calculate chronology from the creation of the world. In addition, each of the ever existing religions had its own calendar.

Julian and Gregorian calendars

Transferring from one chronology to another was associated with a number of inconveniences, which was primarily due to the different lengths of the year, since in each chronology system the calendar year began on different days and even months.

The countdown of the year starting from January 1 was introduced in 45 BC in Rome by the great Julius Caesar; over time, the calendar was named after its creator - the Julian. Thanks to the Julian calendar, the average length of an ordinary year was established at 365 days, and every fourth year was considered a leap year and its duration was 366 days. The modern Gregorian calendar appeared thanks to Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 on October 15. The Gregorian calendar was introduced to replace the Julian calendar in force at that time and was called the new style calendar.

Mayan calendar

However, perhaps the most mysterious calendar in the whole world is rightfully considered the calendar of the ancient Mayans. The Mayan calendar was created in Central America by the Mayan civilization during the pre-Columbian period. It was also used successfully by some other Central American peoples, such as the ancient Aztecs or Teltecs. The main feature and mystery of this calendar is that its last date was December 21, 2012.

Vikram samvat

Another world-famous calendar is rightfully considered the Vikram Samvat or Samvat calendar. This calendar was once widespread in India. Its main feature is that the length of the solar day is related to the length of the lunar months. The Neapolitan calendar was later created on the basis of Vikram Samvat.

What is the year now? The question is not as simple as it might seem. Everything is relative. People created calendars to measure the passage of time. But time is ephemeral, it cannot be caught, and the starting point cannot be marked. This is where the difficulty begins. How to find the beginning? What can you count on? And with what steps?

1. 2018 in Russia.
Most countries in the world live according to the Gregorian calendar. Including Russia. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII to replace the Julian calendar. The difference between these two calendars today is 13 days, and it increases by 3 days every 400 years. This is why there is such a holiday as Old New Year: it is the New Year according to the Julian calendar, and some countries still celebrate it.

The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 in Catholic countries, and it was gradually spread to other countries.

2. 2561 in Thailand.
In Thailand, 2018 will be the year 2561. Thailand officially lives according to the Buddhist lunar calendar, in which the chronology begins from the moment when the Buddha achieved nirvana.

However, they also use the Gregorian calendar.

3. 2011 in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years younger than the regular calendar. Moreover, it has 13 months in a year. 12 months have 30 days and the last one is very short, only 5 or 6 days depending on whether it is a leap year or not. In addition, their new day begins not at midnight, but at dawn. The Ethiopian calendar is based on the ancient calendar of Alexandria.

4. 5778 in Israel.
The Hebrew calendar is officially used in Israel along with the Gregorian calendar. All Jewish holidays, memorial days and birthdays of relatives are celebrated in accordance with the first. Months begin with a new moon, and the first day of the year (Rosh Hashanah) can only be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. Therefore, to make this all work, the previous year is extended by one day.

The Jewish calendar takes its chronology from the very first new moon, which took place on October 7, 3761 BC.

5. 1439 in Pakistan.
The Islamic calendar is used to determine the dates of religious holidays and as the official calendar in some Muslim countries. The chronology begins with the Hijra, the first emigration of Muslims to Medina (622 AD).

The day here begins at sunset, not at midnight. The beginning of the month is the day when the crescent moon first appears after the new moon. The length of the year in the Islamic calendar is 10-11 days less than the solar year.

6. 1396 in Iran.
The Persian calendar, or solar Hijri calendar, is the official calendar in Iran and Afghanistan. This astronomical solar calendar was created by a group of astronomers, including the famous poet Omar Khayyam.

The chronology begins with the Hijri just like the Islamic calendar, but it is also based on the solar year, so the months remain in the same seasons. The week starts on Saturday and ends on Friday.

7. 1939 in India.
The unified national calendar of India was created not so long ago and was introduced in 1957. It is based on calculations from the Saka era, an ancient chronology widely used in India and Cambodia.

There are other calendars in India used by different peoples and tribes. Some begin the chronology from the date of Krishna's death (3102 BC); others date from Vikram's rise to power in 57; the third group, according to the Buddhist calendar, begins the chronology from the date of death of Gautama Buddha (543 AD).

8. 30 year in Japan.
In Japan, there are 2 existing chronologies: one that begins with the birth of Christ and the traditional one. The latter is based on the reign of the Japanese emperors. Each emperor gives a name to his period: the motto of his reign.

Since 1989, there has been an "era of peace and tranquility" and the throne belongs to Emperor Akihito. The previous era - the Enlightened World - lasted 64 years. Most official documents use 2 dates: one according to the Gregorian calendar and one according to the current era in Japan.

9. The year is 4716 in China.
The Chinese calendar is used in Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam and other Asian countries. The chronology begins with the date when Emperor Huangdi began his reign in 2637 BC.

The calendar is cyclical and is based on the astronomical cycles of Jupiter. Over the course of 60 years, Jupiter circles the Sun 5 times, and these are the 5 elements of the Chinese calendar. One circle of Jupiter around the Sun takes 12 years, and these years get their names from animals. 2018 (Gregorian) will be the Year of the Dog.

10. 107 in North Korea.
The Juche calendar has been used in North Korea since July 8, 1997, along with the chronology of the birth of Christ. The countdown is 1912, the year of birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the country's eternal president. His year of birth is year 1; There is no year 0 in this calendar.

Both calendars are used when writing dates. The Gregorian calendar year is written in parentheses next to the year according to the Juche calendar.

For us it is a rectangular grid with days and weeks and the beginning of the year on January 1, but for other peoples the calendar looked different. This is what your custom calendar could look like if you were not born here and not in our time.

Calendars of different peoples of the world - from Egypt to China

• Egypt used both lunar and solar calendars. The Egyptians began using the lunar calendar back in the 4th millennium BC, and the solar calendar later, from about 1700 BC. e. The year lasted 365 days, and was divided into 12 months of 30 days. But there were not four seasons, as we are accustomed to, but three, which corresponded to the stages of sowing, harvesting and the flood season. At the end of the year there were 5 additional holidays in honor of the children of the earth god. Interestingly, the Egyptians kept count of the years from the moment the new pharaoh ascended the throne.
• The Chinese calendar is also called the Eastern calendar. Today it is still used to determine the dates of traditional Chinese holidays. This calendar became the basis for others - Vietnamese, Japanese, Tibetan and Korean. It consists of a 60-year cyclic system that combines two circles of cycles - the twelve-year cycle of the “earthly branches”, where each year has the name of an animal, and the ten-year cycle of the “heavenly branches”, after which each year belongs to one of the five elements - water , wood, fire, metal or earth.
• Everyone remembers the mythical end of the world on December 21, 2012, right? This “important” date comes from the Mayan calendar. In this calendar, all time was divided into cycles, or “suns.” The Mayans believed that at the end of each "sun" there would be a massive destruction of humanity. December 21, 2012 fell precisely at the end of the 5th cycle. The previous 4 cycles ended with earthquakes, hurricanes, rain of fire and floods, respectively. The sixth cycle in the calendar was empty, since the priests could not see the future after the end of the fifth “sun”.

Almost “modern” calendars of the peoples of the world

• At the beginning of the revolutionary era, the French decided to make their own calendar. It was introduced in 1793, but later, in 1806, Napoleon I abolished it. In principle, the calendar did not stand out in any way - the same 365 days, and 12 months - but 30 days each. The remaining 5 days (six for leap years) were not included in the month and had a special name. A feature of this calendar was the beginning of the year on the day of the autumn equinox - that is, every year there was a “new” New Year.
• It is impossible not to mention the Soviet revolutionary calendar! Although it didn’t catch on, it was quite interesting. The chronology was carried out as in the Gregorian calendar, but in the calendars themselves the year was indicated as “NN year of the socialist revolution.” There were also 12 months, 30 days each, and the days that remained were called “monthless holidays.” The week consisted of 5 days, and for each layer of workers the day off fell on a different day.

Has a very long history. He is a representative of the lunisolar calendar. As in all calendars of this type, the length of its months is alternately 29 and 30 days, every three years a 13th month is added to the Jewish calendar. This month is called Veadar; it is customary to insert it before the month of Nissan every 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year of the 19-year cycle. Nissan is the first month of the Jewish calendar, and the years are counted from the seventh month, called Tishri. Thanks to the periodic insertion of the month Veadara, the vernal equinox always falls on a lunation in the month of Nissan.

In the Jewish calendar there is an ordinary year, containing 12 months, and an embolismic year, the number of months in which is 13. In the embolismic year, out of the 30 days of the month of Veadara, inserted before Nissan, one day is assigned to the sixth month of Adar (usually it contains 29 days), and the remaining 29 days make up the month of Veadar. In general, the Jewish calendar is a very complex calendar, like all lunisolar calendars.

Muslim calendar. Initially, the Arabs used a lunisolar calendar, which was reminiscent of the Jewish calendar. It is believed that the errors of the old calendar forced the Prophet Muhammad to abandon additional months and introduce a lunar calendar, the first year of which was 622. The year in this calendar consists of 12 months, alternately containing 29 or 30 days. The average length of the year in this calendar is 354.37 days. It is impossible to add to these 12 months an additional 13th month or an additional day to individual months to coordinate with the length of the solar year, with the exception of one additional day in leap lunar years, then the number of days increases from 354 to 355 so that the new moon is closer to first of the month. This additional day is usually added to the last month of the year and then the number of days in it is 30. All lunar calendars have two periods: a period of 8 years is called the “Turkish cycle”, a period of 30 years is called the “Arabic cycle”. Some countries of the East - Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan - simultaneously use calendars based on both cycles. It is impossible to add to these 12 months an additional 13th month or an additional day to individual months to coordinate with the length of the solar year, with the exception of one additional day in leap lunar years, when the number of days increases from 354 to 355 so that the new moon is located close to first of the month. This additional day is included in the last month of the year and then the number of days in it is 30.

In the Muslim calendar, the beginning of the year constantly moves over time. Therefore, in the lunar calendar there are no seasons and no division of months into summer, winter, autumn and spring, due to the fact that they all fall at different times of the year. There are special tables for converting Muslim chronology systems into European ones.

Egyptian calendar. Initially, the Egyptian calendar was lunar. However, since the whole life of the Egyptians was closely connected with the annual floods of the Nile, they created another calendar, focusing on the appearance of the star Saturn (it appeared regularly during the summer solstice, and soon the Nile flood occurred). The Egyptian solar year contained 12 months of 30 days, at the end of the last month there were five additional days, so that the total was 365 days. However, over time it turned out that the calendar year was a quarter of a day shorter than the solar year, and over time the calendar diverged more and more from the seasons. Watching the risings of Sirius more closely, the Egyptians came to the conclusion that 1461 Egyptian years of 365 days are equal to 1460 solar years of 365.25 days. The error had to be corrected. However, the Egyptian priests for a long time prevented any change in the calendar. And only in 238 BC. Ptolemy III issued a decree adding one day to every fourth year, i.e. introduced a leap year. Thus, the modern solar calendar was born.

Prehistoric Chinese calendar was lunar. Emperor Yao around 2357 BC, was dissatisfied with the existing lunar calendar, which was inconvenient for agriculture, and therefore ordered astronomers to determine the dates of the equinoxes and create a seasonal calendar convenient for agriculture. It was necessary to somehow reconcile the 354-day lunar calendar with the 365-day astronomical year. To resolve this situation, Chinese astronomers proposed adding 7 intercalary months every 19 years, following detailed instructions. As a result, although the solar and lunar years were basically consistent, there were still certain differences that were corrected as they reached a noticeable difference. However, the calendar was still imperfect: the years had unequal lengths, and the equinoxes fell on different dates. The year in the Chinese calendar consisted of 24 crescents. The Chinese calendar cycle is 60 years, and has several internal periods. It is interesting that every year of the Chinese calendar has a rather funny name, for example, “year of the cow”, “year of the tiger”, “hare”, “dragon”, etc. These years repeat with a period of 12 years. In 1911, the Gregorian calendar was officially adopted in the new Republic of China, and although peasants continued to use the ancient lunar calendar, it was banned in 1930.

Mayan and Aztec calendars.

The ancient civilization of the Mayan tribe had a very perfect calendar, containing 365 days, divided into 18 months of 20 days each, with another 5 days remaining, which were not classified as any month. There were 28 weeks in a year, each of which had 13 days; one day remained extra. The Mayan calendar was almost the same.

The Aztec calendar stone, built on a basalt slab measuring 3.6 m, is very interesting. This stone was discovered in Mexico, Cortez's detachment in 1519. In the center of the stone was depicted, surrounded by twenty days of the month, the Sun. Adjacent to the sun were four large rectangles in which heads were depicted, symbolizing, apparently, the dates of the four previous world eras. The heads and symbols in the rectangles of the next circle indicate the 20 days of the month. The large triangular figures represent the rays of the sun, and the two fiery serpents at the base of the outer circle represent the heat of the heavens.

Many nations have their own calendars, which start from some important event. The calendars of Indians, Chinese, Muslims and Jews begin on different dates. In India, holidays are calculated using metal “perpetual” calendars.

Central American calendars date back to the 6th century BC. They were used by the Zapotecs and Olmecs, and later improved by the Mayans and Aztecs, who knew astronomy well. Calendars are based on the periodicity of the movements of celestial bodies. The beginning of the Aztec year, for example, was marked by the constellation Pleiades.

The Aztec calendar (“Sun Stone”) is a symbol of Mexico. It dates back to the 15th century AD. In the center of the disk is the face of the sun god, and the rings around it symbolize time periods. This stone shows the Aztec universe. They had two parallel calendars - a civil shiupoualli of 365 days (18 months of 20 days plus five days for New Year celebrations) and a ritual 260-day. Both of them are depicted on the Sun Stone.

Indian "perpetual" calendar for 1990-2019.

Chac Mool (Chichen Itza, Mexico) is a stone figure with a flat bowl on its stomach. The hearts of people sacrificed to the rain god were placed in the bowl.

The Mayans also had two calendars. Haab described a solar year of 365 days and was used for domestic life, sowing and harvesting. Tzolkin lasted 260 days and was used for ritual purposes. Birth charts were drawn for newborn boys to find out who they would become - soldiers, priests or victims. The 584-day cycle of Venus also played an important role: this planet was considered unfavorable and therefore associated with wars and other dark events.

The Inca calendar was based on observations of the sun, moon and stars. It consisted of 12 months (30 days each) and additional days. Measurements were taken using special pillars or stones. For example, in Machu Picchu there is the Intihuana stone (“pillar to which the sun is tied”). During the equinox it is directly above the pillar and therefore does not provide shade.

In Islam, holidays are calculated according to the lunar calendar, which is useless in agriculture, so other calendar systems have become widespread. There are also Chinese and ancient Indian lunisolar calendars, calendars of individual regions and various sects.

In India, disk “perpetual” calendars are often found, which make it possible to carry out calendar calculations over a long period of time.

Clocks are signs of time Humanity has always sought to measure time. The oldest instrument used for this purpose is the sundial.

Traditionally, sundials were often decorated with mottos, usually in Latin. The most common is “Time flies” (“Tempus fugit”).

The first mechanical watches did not have a dial; they simply chimed the time. However, then few people could use numbers. The oldest public clock dates back to 1386 and is still working - this is the clock in the Cathedral of the English city of Salisbury.

In Salisbury Cathedral (England) there is an ancient clock that still works.

Orloj clock in Prague (Czech Republic).

The large chimes in Rouen (France) have only one hand - who cares about the minutes?

On old clocks there is often a figurine of a bell ringer striking the quarter hours. Such figurines can be seen, for example, in the cathedrals of Wells and Norwich in England. Wells has two "ringers" - inside and outside.

The large chimes in Rouen (Normandy, France) date back to 1389. They have one hand - at that time no one was interested in minutes. However, at the top of the dial there is a half black, half silver ball that allows you to determine the phases of the moon and mark the days of the week. The clock depicts allegorical figures of gods, symbolizing celestial bodies.

The Orloj astronomical clock in Prague is a work of art with sparkling hands and graceful circles. They show not only time, but also years, months, days, sunrise and sunset, the position of the zodiac signs. Around the clock there are four moving figures: Death in the form of a skeleton rings a bell; Vanity looks in the mirror; Greed shakes a bag of money, and the Turk in a turban shakes his head.

By the 18th century, global exploration and trade forced watchmakers to find ways to accurately mark time. The famous English inventor John Harrison created a chronometer that allows one to determine the position of a ship at sea with an accuracy of 1°. The sailors knew how to calculate local time, but to calculate the exact longitude they needed a certain reference point, which became the Greenwich meridian.

Harrison's chronometer saved many lives and ships, helped in trade and travel.

Greenwich Meridian Line in London. You can stand with one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere and the other in the Western Hemisphere.

Stonehenge is perhaps the oldest clock. The position of the stones corresponds to the sunrise in mid-winter and mid-summer.