Confusion via Calendar

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Based on some workplace conversations, I researched (broadly) the history of the Gregorian calendar vs Hebrew calendar. I found this article easy to read and understand: Noah’s Flood and God’s Calendar. As I choose not to debate politics or religion, looking beyond the scope of either, is an open minded understanding of something I cannot quantify…the oft ignored feeling. I have nearly always felt the month of January did not fit into my knowledge of a new year. Instead, it felt more like the culmination of one. Just as Saturday and Sunday are inexplicably considered the end of the week. It is my “feeling” perhaps we have allowed society and the lovely but sometimes inaccurate common knowledge to overrule our senses.

Did you know Sunday and Saturday bookend the work week, as displayed on any modern calendar? These are considered the rest days; therefore, we end with one and we begin with one. However, my mental picture is one of 5 days of work, then 2 days of rest, as if the week begins on Monday. The more I rearrange the mental image into bookends, the more care I take to preserve each of the bookends as separate days of a new week. Rest at the end, rest to begin.

Translating this into the annual calendar, the Gregorian calendar – the Western calendar, or solar calendar, adopted into use in 1582 – is the standard (January – December). Unless you operate in the government or in finances, then the calendar used is the fiscal calendar (1 Oct – 30 Sep). Starting to sound like meters vs feet. But, once upon a time, there existed the Hebrew calendar, or Jewish calendar, a lunar calendar, i.e., based on moon patterns. Lunar cycles have been (incorrectly) identified as reasons for erratic behavior, “lunacy”, and other stigmas. However, research thus far has not been able to corroborate these anecdotes. Sure, it is fun to blame it on the moon, but definitive correlations are still too far out (no pun intended).

I realize while writing this I am a walking contradiction. Some of it makes sense, some of it does not. Alas, the feeling remains. To believe the Hebrew calendar fits my narrative better than others (the beginning of the year starts in Spring) and to believe a bookended week feels better is decidedly unable to be validated. It is just a feeling.

__________________________

I ask you –

Have you studied historical calendars?

Do you consider yourself a contradiction?

Thoughts on a bookend weekend – yay or nay?

(The post Confusion via Calendar first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

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Hi! As a prior United States Navy servicemember, I enjoy sharing the way it has changed my life and my deep appreciation of fitness and health. My hope is this journey will be funny, emotional, and inspiring! -Kelly

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6 thoughts on “Confusion via Calendar”

  1. All my digital calendars have Monday as the first day of the week because I feel the same way you do. I did a little bit of digging into historical calendars once because I think 12 months is stupid when we have a 52-week year. Why isn’t it 13 months with four weeks per month? If I’m remembering correctly, some folks way back in the day did have a 13-month year, and the extra day (13 x 52 = 364) was a day of celebration. This makes way more sense in my brain, but unless I move completely off grid and ignore civilization, I guess I’m stuck with our current calendar, lol.

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  2. In my mind, the year starts in August and ends in July. June and July are the “weekend” to my school year “work week”.

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  3. I was just speaking to the husband about a similar topic. With my current job, I tend to get an extreme case of the “Mondays” (the fear and dread of starting the work week) on Sunday nights. Since our work-life balance has shifted tremendously with the introduction of things like email, I would not mind having 3-day weekends. This past weekend, I noticed that I was so relaxed on Memorial Day Monday that I did not have the feeling of doom and gloom about starting the workweek on Tuesday. Also, back in the day, when folks had 9-5 jobs, once you left the office your work day was OVER. Now, many of us have to finish work at home, receive and/or have to respond to work emails after working hours. In many cases, we do not get that full (5 pm to 9 am) break from work.

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