Types of Calendars

Not every country can tell time and keep track of the months and years the same way. Most other countries have different calendars that they use for this purpose. And each calendar has a name and specific "type" depending on the country or religion and there are over 40 different calendars. However, there are three different types of calendars: Lunar, Solar, and Lunisolar. Let's break each of them down further!

Lunar
The Lunar calendar, also known as Synodic months, or Lunations) uses the monthly phases of the Moon in order to keep track of time! In other words, a Lunar year is based on how long it takes for the Moon to go through each of it's phases such as the full moon, new moon, first quarter, etc. To simplify it a bit more, a Lunar year has 354 days and 12 months. The Lunar year also has an extra month every 3 years. Some common Lunar calendars include the Islamic Calendar, Gezer Calendar, Chinese Calendar, and Haida Calendar. 

Solar
The Solar calendar uses the Earth's rotation around the sun to track time. This is called a solar year. To break this down a bit more, a Solar year has 365 days and 12 months with, of course, an extra day in Febuary every 4 years. This is called the Leap year. The most common Solar calendars include the Gregorian Calendar, Julian Calendar, and the Coptic Calendar. 

Lunisolar
A Lunisolar calendar is a compination between Lunar and Solar. It is based on the phases of the moon and the Solar year to track the time. Some examples of Lunisolar calendars include the Hebrew Calendar, Korean Calendar, and the Umma Calendar. 

Of course, some of those calendars that was mentioned may not seem familiar or common to you because you don't hear too much about the different calendars or how they work. But you will soon! 

Before Calendars
Before calendars were invented, they had to use special techniques with the sky to help them tell time, such as, the stars or the moon themself. They also noted the changes of the seasons and whether it was night or day. Later on, they noticed and became fascinated over the moon and how it often changes its shape. Eventually, later on, calendars were invented based on the moon's phases. And here is a little fun fact, which I will start off by asking this. Where do we get the word "Month"? It is a Middle English term coming from the word "Moneth". But it also comes from the Greek variation, meaning Moon. 

Later on, along came the Sundial which was another neat device to help tell time. The sun will usually cast a shadow over the device to help determine the solar time. Another device that was used is the Water clock. For this tool, time is measured based by using the flow of the water, however, this one is said to mainly be for nighttime uses, but could have also been used during the day as well. 


Subject to edit by the Instructor