Calendar timeline

Most of the world’s countries and cultures use the Gregorian calendar, but some base their calendars on more ancient systems. Other countries have adopted an alternative calendar at some point in their history.

3761 BC Jewish calendar starts

2637 BC Original chinese calendar starts

45 BC Julian calendar adopted by Roman Empire

AD 1 Christian calendar starts

79 Hindu calendar starts

597 Julian calendar adopted in Britain

622 Islamic calendar starts

1582 Gregorian calendar introduced in Catholic countries

1752 Julian calendar abandoned, Gregorian calendar adopted in Britain and its

colonies, including America

1873 Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar

1949 China adopts the Gregorian calendar

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Names of months

The names of the months in English (as well in many other languages) come from Latin Words. January Januarius – this month was dedicated to Janus, the Roman god of doors. Janus had two faces, one looking back at the old year and the other looking forward to the new year. February Februarius – Februa was the Roman purification festival, which took place at this time of year. March Martius – from Mars, the Roman god of war. April Aprilis – from aperire, Latin for open, because plants begin to open during this month. May Maius – probably comes from Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and increase. June Junius – either from a Roman family name junius, which means young, or perhaps after the goddess Juno. July Julius – after julius Caesar. This month was na

Chinese calendar

Present-day China uses the Gregorian calendar for most purposes, but traditional festivals, such as Chinese New Year, take place according to the ancient Chinese calendar. Legend has it that this was started during the reign of Emperor Huangdi in 2637 BC, and relates to the positions of the Moon and Sun. Heavenly systems Earthly branches 1 jia 1 zi (rat) 2 yi 2 chou (ox) 3 bing 3 yin (tiger) 4 ding 4 mao (hare or rabbit) 5 wu 5 chen (dragon) 6 ji 6 si (snake) 7 geng 7 wu (horse) 8 zxin 8 wei (sheep or ram) 9 ren

Constellations

Groups of stars form patterns in the night sky, which are called constellations. There are 88 known constellations. The sumerians, a Middle Eastern civilization, probably named them, about 5,000 years ago. The largest is Hydra, the sea serpent, and the smallest is Crux Australis, the Southern Cross. Centaurus, the Centaur. Has the most stars that can be seen with the naked eye(94). Others include Aquila, the Eagle; Canis Major, the Great Dog; and Orion, the Hunter.

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