Class - IV Session: 2022 - 23 Subject: Social Studies

Name: Rongeet Choudhury Sec: D Date: 10/04/2023

Almanac
A calendar is a chart with a set of days, weeks, dates and months of a
particular year. The days, weeks, dates, months, and years are some of the
components of a calendar. These components are set on the basis of day-to-day
appearance of the sun or the moon. Thus, an annual calendar with important
dates of that year is called an almanac. It also highlights statistical information
such as astronomical data and tide tables.

Etymology

Old Greek (almenichiaká) Late Greek (almenichiakon) Old French (almanach)

Arabic Spanish Arabic (al-manāḵ) Medieval Latin (almanachus)

(al-manākh = the calendar)

Middle English (almenak) Late Middle English (almanac)

The first recorded calendar is said to have been used during the Bronze Age.

Types of Calendars

In the past calendars were developed as per religious beliefs. Some popular calendars
of the world are Gregorian Calendar, Chinese Calendar, Hebrew Calendar, Hijri
Calendar and Saka Calendar. However, we mainly use two types of calendars. These
are: Gregorian Calendar and Saka Calendar.

Page 1 of 5
Gregorian Calendar

The Gregorian Calendar is also called the “New Style Calendar”. It was introduced in
AD. 1582 By Pope Gregory XIII and was named after him. Presently we use this
calendar to keep track of dates, days, and
months.

After every four years, a Leap Year comes. A

Leap Year has 366 days.

In the Gregorian Calendar, in a leap year, the month of February has 29 days.

The Gregorian Calendar is a Solar Calendar. The Gregorian Calendar is based on the
Earth's movement around the sun.

It is globally the most widely used civil calendar.

Saka Calendar

The Saka Calendar or Hindu Calendar is based on the Saka Era. It was adopted from
22nd March 1957. It is also known as the Indian National Calendar. Like the Gregorian
Calendar, the Saka Calendar comprises 365 days and 12 months.
In leap years, the month Chaitra consists of 31 days and begins on March 21.

• The Shaka era began in 78 CE (AD) with the ascension of king Chashtana of
Ujjain.
• The Saka Calendar is 78 years behind the Gregorian Calendar.
• Unlike the Gregorian Calendar, the Saka Calendar is a luni-solar calendar.
• Like the Gregorian Calendar, the Saka Calendar has 12 months and 365 days.

Page 2 of 5
 The Structure of the Saka Calendar:
Serial Month (Sanskrit) No. of Days in a Start Date
Number Month in the (As per the Gregorian
Saka Calendar Calendar)
1. Chaitra 30 / 31 March 22 / 21
2. Vaishaka 31 April 21
3. Jyeshtha 31 May 22
4. Ashadha 31 June 22
5. Shravana 31 July 23
6. Bhaadra 31 August 23
7. Ashwin 30 September 23
8. Kartika 30 October 23
9. Agrahayana 30 November 22
10 Pausha 30 December 22
.
11 Magha 30 January 21
.
12 Phalguna 30 February 20
.

Difference between The Gregorian Calendar and The Saka Calendar :-

The Gregorian Calendar The Saka Calendar

a. The Gregorian Calendar is a solar a. The Saka Calendar is a lunisolar

Calendar. calendar.

b. The Gregorian Calendar is globally the
most widely used civil calendar.
c. January is the first month of the year.
d. February has 29 days during the leap
year.
b. The Saka Calendar is the National
Calendar of India. It is also used
beyond India’s border.
c. Chaitra is the first month of the year.
d. Chaitra has 31 days during the leap
year.

Page 3 of 5
 Time in History

When we read history books, we often come across dates and letters like 273 BC or AD
711. But what do they mean? How are they calculated?

These dates or years are counted from the assumed date of birth of Jesus Christ.
The birthday of Jesus Christ is taken as Day 1 and then onwards, 100 years are
counted as One Century.

The time before the birth of Jesus Christ is called Before Christ. At present we use
Before Common Era or BCE.
✓ BC (Before Christ) = BCE = Before Common Era = The events that happened
before the birth of Christ.
✓ We count backwards to count years in BCE. Thus 400 BCE comes before 300
BCE.

The time after the birth of Jesus Christ is called Anno Domini or AD. At present we use
Common Era or CE in the place of AD.
✓ AD stands for Anno Domini which means “in the year of our Lord” — That means
the events that happened after the birth of Jesus Christ.
✓ Historians used CE for AD.
✓ AD (Anno Domini) = CE = Common Era
✓ We count forwards in AD. Thus 400 CE comes after 300 CE.

The letter ‘C’ stands for the Latin word ‘Circa’, which means ‘approximately’.

Page 4 of 5
The different periods of history can also be represented by using a timeline.

A timeline is a useful tool which is used to put important events in order of

their occurrence over a long period of time.

Timeline is used in history because they tell us :-

● When an event happened.

● What happened before it.
● What happened after it.

Page 5 of 5