Recently I came across a fifty year old calendar from an insurance company. Rather than beginning in January and ending in December, the calendar ran from April to March of the following year. After looking at the binding (plastic comb), the only plausible explanation for this I can think of is that each month, when agents gave calendars out to new policy holders, the calendar would be adjusted to run a full year from the time it was given away.
Are there any calendar collectors who have a better explanation for why a seemingly ordinary calendar would start in a month other than January?
Sure. Some calendars are set to go along with the academic year, some for the fiscal year, and some for whatever floats the boat of the folks making the thing (read: suiting the purpose desired).
I remember one big item at my college bookstore was 16-month calendars, that ran from September through the following year. I always figured they were for people who decided that now that they were in college, they’d better get their sh!t together and start keeping track of what day it was.
http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html
Since about 1600 most countries have used 1 January as the first
day of the year. Italy and England, however, did not make 1
January official until around 1750.
In England (but not Scotland) three different years were used:
- The historical year, which started on 1 January.
- The liturgical year, which started on the first Sunday in advent.
- The civil year, which
from the 7th to the 12th century started on 25 December,
from the 12th century until 1751 started on 25 March,
from 1752 started on 1 January.
In the UK the financial year runs from 1 April to 30 March: it is on this ‘year’ that company profits are reported, taxes assessed, etc. So an April-March calendar would be a useful thing in an accounting office or a firm involved in the finance industry.
In Australia the financial year is 1 July to 30 June, and July-June ‘financial year’ diaries are available.
And, of course, the Jewish calendar runs from September-October (a fixed date on the lunar calendar; it floats on the solar calendar) to September-October of the following year. I used to get calendars that started in September from the local Jewish funeral home.
