# Anyone follow a non Gregorian calendar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247 "2026-01-01T17:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/21 "2026-01-02T18:29:59Z")
There is a Babylonian luni-solar calendar used by Jews, as mentioned above, which determines the dates of public holidays in Israel, but (correct me if I am wrong!) it is not generally used for civil purposes and people do not “follow” it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/22 "2026-01-02T19:06:21Z")
I stand corrected. DPRK is correct. Here is what Dr. Google has to say: Israel uses both the **[Gregorian calendar](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Gregorian+calendar&mstk=AUtExfAnt-rfEK0bdJ9QQgx9lggKDem9eyTcpQHGuWKNrCV0769u1FF_x7U3D_tJzsuPgzKhLo6mjRfOECrapsFb0n592vS2JfQ9dL_S9IFSjSg2L0QRWgWmAYVhW2zgjHDEj4zu9l3sK0_Kxtrk_E5DJsdX6GWFElbdvOugYYI2maTnZxM&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi_n83mxe2RAxUEw8kDHTJFLtMQgK4QegQIARAE)** (for civil/international purposes) and the **[Hebrew calendar](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Hebrew+calendar&mstk=AUtExfAnt-rfEK0bdJ9QQgx9lggKDem9eyTcpQHGuWKNrCV0769u1FF_x7U3D_tJzsuPgzKhLo6mjRfOECrapsFb0n592vS2JfQ9dL_S9IFSjSg2L0QRWgWmAYVhW2zgjHDEj4zu9l3sK0_Kxtrk_E5DJsdX6GWFElbdvOugYYI2maTnZxM&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi_n83mxe2RAxUEw8kDHTJFLtMQgK4QegQIARAF)** (for Jewish religious observance and as an official national calendar for holidays like Independence Day). While the Gregorian is used for daily business, schools, and finance, the Hebrew calendar determines Jewish holidays, dates, and is often seen alongside Gregorian dates on official documents, connecting the nation to its religious and historical heritage. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/23 "2026-01-02T19:55:57Z")
I usually don’t know the Hebrew date off the top of my head, but I can usually calculate it pretty quickly by remembering when the last holiday was and counting forward from there. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/24 "2026-01-03T07:42:32Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Most Jews would fall in the first category, using the Gregorian for daily use, and the Jewish calendar only WRT holidays. Christians do too, but only for one holiday: Easter is based on the Jewish lunar calendar, and so moves around each year. But it has been re-defined to be calculable in the Gregorian system. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/25 "2026-01-03T11:26:20Z")
Today is January 3, 2569 in Thailand for almost all purposes (including Google results despite preference cookies); but most Thais are aware of the alternate year designation, 2026. If these are considered different calendars then Thailand uses vestiges of FIVE different calendars! There are three different days (January 1, April 13, and a moving feast typically in February) where “Happy New Year” is heard as a greeting. A 4th (moving, full moon) holiday in November isn’t called “New Year”, but is the culmination of an ancient lunar calendar distinct from the Chinese calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/26 "2026-01-03T12:00:40Z")
Does get a little tricky to answer “what’s today’s date?” in Thailand, apparently. Are they the most complex culture around on that subject? > **[Thai calendar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_calendar)** > > In Thailand, two main calendar systems are used alongside each other: the Thai solar calendar, based on the Gregorian calendar and used for official and most day-to-day purposes, and the Thai lunar calendar (a version of the Buddhist calendar, technically a lunisolar calendar), used for traditional events and Buddhist religious practices. > The use of the solar-based calendar was introduced in 1889 by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), replacing the lunar calendar in official contexts. The beginning of... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/27 "2026-01-03T13:58:30Z")
True enough. But … If you ask any Xian “What date is Easter 2026?” the answer they give will be the Gregorian one. Which they had to Google or consult some other professional calendar source to discover. (April 5th 2026). Damned few (read “effectively zero”) Xians know how to, much less will, compute the date of Easter from first principles in any calendar, Gregorian or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/28 "2026-01-03T14:04:00Z")
Whereas i, a secular Jew who mostly uses the Gregorian calendar, will sometimes look at the moon and think, “we must be close to Rosh Hashanah.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/29 "2026-01-03T14:17:37Z")
I’m a secular secularist who knows no calendar other than Gregorian. I certainly know _of_ many other calendars, but close to nothing beyond the fact of their existence. OTOH, I follow the progression of the Moon and can generally tell you what the current phase is and rough times of moonrise & set. I try to look at the Moon every day it’s visible. Which is most of them if you’re diligent about it. It just takes a moment to scan the sky. To me it feels like a way to remain grounded a teeny bit in Nature despite living in a nearly totally artificial environment. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/30 "2026-01-03T19:45:58Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Whereas i, a secular Jew who mostly uses the Gregorian calendar, will sometimes look at the moon and think, “we must be close to Rosh Hashanah.” BTW, IIRC the Jewish calendar does not depend on actual, naked-eye sighting of the real Moon, though! That is in Islam. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/31 "2026-01-04T02:29:40Z")
No, after most of the Jews were forced out of Israel, the rabbis came up with a formula that keeps the calendar on track. But the formula works, and you can tell when the month begins by looking at the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/32 "2026-01-18T21:04:28Z")
Before they figured out the formula, Jews living far from Israel observed every holiday on two consecutive days, to make sure that they hit the right day. Today, many centuries after we got good enough at astronomy to make that unnecessary, Orthodox Jews still do everything twice, for…um, Orthodox reasons, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/33 "2026-01-18T21:54:13Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > still do everything twice, for…um, Orthodox reasons, I guess. This seems like an excellent idea we should do this for all holidays! Except I am absolutely not getting my kids two sets of presents at Christmas, or two Halloween costumes or two easter egg hunts 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/34 "2026-01-19T00:23:07Z")
Two Thanksgiving dinners and two days of Fourth of July fireworks I could go for. And getting January 2 off would be a big win for football fans. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/35 "2026-01-22T08:18:00Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > While the Gregorian is used for daily business, schools, and finance, the Hebrew calendar determines Jewish holidays, dates, and is often seen alongside Gregorian dates on official documents, connecting the nation to its religious and historical heritage. As an aside: because the school year starts around Rosh Hashana, in Israel academic years are often listed in Hebrew years even in non-religious contexts. It’s easier to say “5786 School Year” than “2025-2026 School Year”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247/36 "2026-01-22T13:26:46Z")
My mother used to use the free Jewish calendar the lubuvitchers mailed her because it worked well with the school year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-follow-a-non-gregorian-calendar/1026247.md?page=1)