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In the West, we tend to think that there is only one calendar, but there are dozens of them around the world. And what is more, there were probably hundreds of them before. All defunct now either because ours is more precise or because theirs did not fit in with our commercial way of life.

But that does not mean to say that people do not still use those old-fashioned, redundant calendars. Oh, no! Governments have given up their old, traditional national calendars, but in general, country folk still refer to them, even if they can no longer obtain a printed version. I cannot go into all the calendars here, but I will mention five or six of them.

Lunar Calendar – There is some indication that early man used marks on bone to record or indicate the passage of time 25,000 years ago, almost certainly calibrated by the Moon’s phases. A calendar can be created based on the lunar cycles; it creates a year of twelve months (the word ‘month’ is from the word ‘moon’), but only 354 days, which is, eleven short of the time it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun. The Chinese still use a variety of the lunar calendar but they resolve this issue by inserting extra moths every now and then to bring ‘time’ back into alignment with the Sun.

Solar Calendar – The ancient Egyptians were the first people to employ a Solar Calendar, although it could justifiably be called a cosmological calendar. The new year began for them when Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky, rose in the same place as the Sun. This usually coincided with the flooding of the Nile. This calendar was of 365 days; twelve months of thirty days and five festive days. Therefore, it was only one quarter of a day off the true year. However, this meant that gradually, the new year did not concur with the flood. Scientists have worked out that this calendar was adopted in either 4241 BC or 2773 BC.

Julian Calendar – In 46 BC , Julius Caesar realised that a number of provinces of the empire were using different calendars, so he instructed the dating system to be unified. Sosigenes came up with a calendar of 365 days with an extra day every four years. Therefore, in 46 BC, the longest year on record, Caesar added days to the year to bring it back into alignment with the seasons. 46 BC was 445 days long! The immensity of the Roman Empire ensured that this calendar was the defacto calendar of the Western world.

Julian Day Count – In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted a new calendar, but the year after that Joseph Justus Scaliger developed a system of counting days, not years. It starts with 1 on January 1st 4713 BC. On this date the Julian and the lunar calendars and the Roman tax dating system all coincided; something that will next happen in 3267. January 1st 2001 was Julian day 2,451,913

Gregorian Calendar – from at least 730 AD, it was spotted that the year from vernal equinox to vernal equinox was short of the 365.25 days in a year. This had the consequence that the date of Easter was moving back. So he dropped 10 days from 1582 by jumping from October 4th to October 15th and proclaiming that century years would only be leap years if they were divisible by 400. Consequently, 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was. This is the calendar we still use today.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

It is a global custom to give gifts for such occasions as birthdays and wedding days, but after that is where the countries start to differ. Britons and people tracing their history back there give gifts on Christmas Day as well.

However, many other Europeans give gifts at Christmas on Saint Nicholas’ Day or December 6th. Non-Christian countries usually give gifts at New Year.

Whatever you do in your country, giving a present takes thought. The shops are frequently full of junk at these present-giving times of the year, but there is also a lot of excellent stuff about, at a cost. The alternatives are twofold on the whole.

You can either make something which will be unique, I suppose that this includes personalizing a shop-bought gift or you can think outside of the box, which many people find quite hard. Personally, I find it hard, but it does get easier the more often you try it and the better you know the person you are going to give the gift to.

Here then are a few ideas which you may resolve to take on board ‘as is’, or they may inspire you on to better ideas. As I write, Christmas is coming up and then it is Saint Valentine’s day before you know it. We certainly get lots of of occasions to practice buying presents in the West!

A Plot Of Your Own: I come from Wales in the UK (is there any other?) and up the way from me a local plot of green-belt land was in trouble. Experts said that it should be planted with trees, but the authorities did not have the funds, so they advertised six feet square plots of land for sale with a sapling of your preference on it.

You also got a title deed, instructions and a photo. In addition, the tree would be maintained for five years until it was established. I am aware that this is not the only place that did this and it was almost certainly not the first either, but it makes a good gift for a teenager who is thinking about what he or she can do to help the environment.

The Key To Success: some children and their parents will appreciate this one. Scour the second-hand shops for an older or even an unusual money box. Fill the money box up to a certain level with various coins that bring that level up to the value that you want to give, but leave plenty of room for the child to put money in too. Who do you give the key to? That depends on how well you know the child.

Starting A Collection: this is a brave, but good one. If you know the child well or are prepared to take on a commitment (such as a godparent should), you could select a set of collectables, like plates, glasses or coins and buy two or three pieces to start the collection off. You can add to it every year. Others will be thankful to you too because they will jump on the band wagon.

In The Bag: if your friend is an invalid or just is temporarily in hospital, it is beneficial to provide a wicker basket or a nice bag full of handy items. Select the items to suit your friend, but everyone might like a writing pad, a pen, a comb or brush, wet wipes or tissues, a small book of verse, a miniature radio with ear plugs, a mirror, straws, a bottle opener, only you know, but you get the idea, I’m sure.

Stamp It: you can buy a large packet of literally thousands of foreign stamps for very little. Buy a stamp album and hinges and you could start a lasting obsession. It also gives you gift ideas for years to come too.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Fanklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars