The Calendar

See also Dates, Moveable Feasts, and Months.

Basics

Jewish calendar begins		3761 BC
Calendar currently in use (since 1752 in Britain)		Gregorian
Calendar replaced by the Gregorian (1752 in Britain)		Julian

Introduction of the Gregorian Calendar

States		Days lost		Year
Venice, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands (Thursday 4th October was followed by Friday 15th)		10		1582
Holy Roman Empire (Catholic states)		10		1583
Holy Roman Empire (Protestant states), Denmark (Sunday 18th February was followed by Monday 1st March)		10		1700
Great Britain (Wednesday 2nd September was followed by Thursday 14th)		11		1752
Sweden		11		1753
Russia (Wednesday 31st January was followed by Thursday 14th February)		13		1918

Bank Holidays

Bank Holidays Act

1871

The original four Bank Holidays (England, Wales, Northern Ireland):

Easter Monday

First Monday in August

Boxing Day

Whit Monday

Christmas Day and Good Friday were traditional days of rest and worship, and were not included in the Act.

Scotland's original five Bank Holidays:

New Year's Day

Good Friday

First Monday in May

First Monday in August

Christmas Day

Additional days subsequently designated in Northern Ireland:

St. Patrick's Day (1903)

Battle of the Boyne Day (1926)

Bank Holidays: later history

Bank Holidays Act (1871) replaced by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act		1971
Whit Monday replaced by Spring Bank Holiday (the last Monday in May); August Bank Holiday moved to the last Monday in August (previously the first)		1971
2 January becomes an additional Bank Holiday in Scotland (by the 1971 Act)		1973
New Year's Day becomes a Bank Holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Boxing Day becomes a Bank Holiday in Scotland		1974
First Monday in May becomes a Bank Holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; last Monday in May in Scotland		1978

General

Twelfth Night (Epiphany) commemorates		The visit of the Magi
2nd Feb: the Purification of the Virgin and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is celebrated as		Candlemas
The third full moon of a season that has four (most seasons have three. Often defined as the second full moon in a calendar month, or the 13th in a calendar year)		Blue moon
First full moon after the Vernal Equinox		Paschal Full Moon
Nearest full moon to the Autumn equinox		Harvest Moon
Full moon after the Harvest Moon		Hunter's Moon
Alternative name for All Saints' Day		All Hallows Day
Also known as Pack–Rag Day		Martinmas
Eve of All Saints' Day		Hallowe'en
Pagan festival celebrated on 30 April or 1 May, particularly in Germany and the Baltic countries; named after a saint born in Devon about 710		Walpurgis Night
A year ending in 00 is a leap year if it's		Divisible by 400

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24