Why do different cultures have different calendars and time systems?

Different cultures have different calendars and time systems because they count days in their own special way, just like how you might count your toys differently from your friend.

Like a Special Game of Blocks

Imagine you and your friend are playing with blocks. You decide to build towers using 7 blocks each day, while your friend uses 10 blocks for every day. That’s kind of like what happens when different cultures use different calendars, they count days in groups that make sense to them.

Like a Fun Song

Some people think of time like a song with many beats. Some songs have 12 beats, and some have 365. Just like how you might tap your foot to the rhythm of a song, different cultures count time based on what they see in the sky, like the moon or the sun.

So, calendars are just fun ways that people around the world keep track of days, months, and years, each with their own special rules.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A child learns that some people use the moon to count days, while others follow the sun.
  2. Someone finds out why the year has 365 days in one culture and 354 in another.
  3. A person discovers that some cultures have a week with seven days, while others have ten.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity