This is the calendar FAQ. Its purpose is to give an overview
of the Christian, Hebrew, and Islamic calendars in common
use. It will provide a historical background for the Christian
calendar, plus an overview of the French Revolutionary
calendar, the Maya calendar, and the Chinese calendar.
Comments are very welcome. My e-mail address is given above.
I would like to thank
Dr. Monzur Ahmed of the University of Birmingham, UK,
Michael J Appel,
Jay Ball,
Tom Box,
Chris Carrier,
Simon Cassidy,
Claus Dobesch,
Leofranc Holford-Strevens,
David B. Kelley of the Hamamatsu University School of
Medicine in Japan,
H. Koenig,
Graham Lewis,
Duncan MacGregor,
Marcos Montes,
James E. Morrison,
Waleed A. Muhanna of the Fisher College of Business,
Columbus, Ohio, USA,
Yves Sagnier of the Centre d'Etudes de la Navigation
Aerienne
Paul Schlyter of the Swedish Amateur Astronomer's Society
Sections 2.6, 2.8, 2.10, and 5.8 have been added and the
following sections renumbered.
Chapter 9 has been added and the following chapter renumbered.
A few minor corrections have been made.
Dates will be written in the British format (1 January)
rather than the American format (January 1). Dates will
occasionally be abbreviated: ``1 Jan'' rather than ``1 January''.
Years before and after the ``official'' birth year of Christ
will be written ``45 BC'' or ``AD 1997'', respectively. I prefer
this notation over the secular ``45 BCE'' and ``1997 CE''
(See also section 2.13.4.)
Throughout this document the operator `mod' will be used to
signify the modulo or remainder operator. For example,
because the result of the division 17/7 is 2 with a
remainder of 3.
Square brackets [like this] identify information that I am
unsure about and about which I would like more
information. Please write me at claus@tondering.dk.
because the result of the division 17/7 is 2 with a
remainder of 3.