How Our Calendar Came To Be?

Our calendar is like a big, friendly clock that helps us know when to sleep, play, and eat.

Long ago, people noticed that the sun moved across the sky in a pattern, sometimes it was high up, sometimes low. They saw this as day and night, and they counted how many days passed until the sun came back to where it started, that was one full year.

The Moon Helps Count Days

People also noticed that the moon changed shape, from a round full moon to no moon at all, and then back again. This cycle took about 28 days, so they used the moon to help count weeks and months.

People Worked Together To Make A Calendar

Over time, different groups of people started using their own calendars, like counting by the sun or the moon. But when people began to travel and trade with each other, they needed a way to agree on dates, so they made one big calendar that everyone could use. That’s how we got our calendar today!

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A child learns how the Egyptians used the stars to create a 365-day year.
  2. A student explains why we have leap years.
  3. A family discusses how the calendar changed over time.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity