The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begun on August 11, 3114 BC.
All Mesoamerican cultures used a 260-day ritual calendar that had no confirmed correlation to astronomical or agricultural cycles. These were used in combination with a separate 365-day calendar to create a 52-year cycle known as a calendar round.
The Ancient Egyptians used 12 months of exactly 30 days, with 5 days of festivities at the end to add up to 365. However, this calendar didn't include a leap day every four years like we have now, so over time it drifted out of sync with the solar year. Despite that, it was remarkably accurate for its time and used for administrative and religious purposes.
The Babylonians created the 7 day week because there are 7 celestial bodies visible to the naked eye (The Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn).
The ancient Greek calendar was based on the Olympiad, the four-year period between the Olympic games.
The original ancient Roman calendar began in March and ended in December and totaled 304 days. January and February were not given names. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (354 days).
All Mesoamerican cultures used a 260-day ritual calendar that had no confirmed correlation to astronomical or agricultural cycles. These were used in combination with a separate 365-day calendar to create a 52-year cycle known as a calendar round.
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| Image of an ancient Mexican calendar |
The Ancient Egyptians used 12 months of exactly 30 days, with 5 days of festivities at the end to add up to 365. However, this calendar didn't include a leap day every four years like we have now, so over time it drifted out of sync with the solar year. Despite that, it was remarkably accurate for its time and used for administrative and religious purposes.
The Babylonians created the 7 day week because there are 7 celestial bodies visible to the naked eye (The Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn).
The ancient Greek calendar was based on the Olympiad, the four-year period between the Olympic games.
The original ancient Roman calendar began in March and ended in December and totaled 304 days. January and February were not given names. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (354 days).
46 BC was the longest year in human history at 455 days. The year marked the change from the pre-Julian Roman calendar to the Julian calendar. Julius Caesar added two extra leap months to re calibrate the calendar in preparation for his calendar reform, which went into effect in 45 BC
When the Julian calendar took effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, it established January 1 as the new date of the new year.
Ukrainian monk, Dionysius Exiguus, created the modern day Christian calendar. His calendar originated from Christ's birth which he assumed was 48 years after the death of Caesar. He made a mistake in his calculations, and it is now believed the birth of Christ was around 4BC.
When the Julian calendar took effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, it established January 1 as the new date of the new year.
Ukrainian monk, Dionysius Exiguus, created the modern day Christian calendar. His calendar originated from Christ's birth which he assumed was 48 years after the death of Caesar. He made a mistake in his calculations, and it is now believed the birth of Christ was around 4BC.
The Sun Stone, or Aztec calendar stone, was carved some time early in the sixteenth century. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in the main square of Mexico City. It was rediscovered on December 17, 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral.
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| Aztec Sun Stone, at National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, Mexico. By Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata |
The Gregorian calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. It was implemented in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain on October 4, 1582, the day being followed directly by October 15.
Two centuries later, the Gregorian calendar was adopted by Great Britain and the English colonies on September 14, 1752, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2nd).
The Gregorian calendar isn't perfect—its dates become one day off from Earth's seasons every 3,216 years.
According to tradition, the Advent calendar was created in the 19th century by a Munich housewife who tired of having to answer endlessly when Christmas would come. The first commercial calendars were printed in Germany in 1851.
In 1908 the Russian team turned up 12 days late to the London Olympics because they were still using the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.
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