Calendar year
Encyclopedia
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day
of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number
of day
s. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle (which could not possibly be reckoned in a whole number of days), certain years contain extra days
. Through further insertion of non-day units of time, the calendar year can be further synchronized; however, these extra units of time are not considered part of the calendar.
The Gregorian
year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 with a length of 365 days in an ordinary year and 366 days in a leap year
giving an average length of 365.2425 days. This is very close to the average length of 76 Islamic calendar
years (based on the average time between successive vernal equinoxes, currently 365.2424 days and increasing marginally). Other formula-based calendars can have lengths which are further out of step with the solar cycle, for example, the Julian calendar
has an average length of 365.25 days, and the Hebrew calendar
has an average length of 365.2468 days.
The astronomer's mean tropical year which is averaged over equinoxes and solstices is currently 365.24219 days, slightly shorter than the average length of the year in most calendars, but the astronomer's value changes over time, so William Herschel
's suggested correction to the Gregorian calendar may become unnecessary by the year 4000.
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number
Natural number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are the ordinary whole numbers used for counting and ordering . These purposes are related to the linguistic notions of cardinal and ordinal numbers, respectively...
of day
Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
s. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle (which could not possibly be reckoned in a whole number of days), certain years contain extra days
Intercalation
Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both days and months.- Solar calendars :...
. Through further insertion of non-day units of time, the calendar year can be further synchronized; however, these extra units of time are not considered part of the calendar.
The Gregorian
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 with a length of 365 days in an ordinary year and 366 days in a leap year
Leap year
A leap year is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year...
giving an average length of 365.2425 days. This is very close to the average length of 76 Islamic calendar
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
years (based on the average time between successive vernal equinoxes, currently 365.2424 days and increasing marginally). Other formula-based calendars can have lengths which are further out of step with the solar cycle, for example, the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
has an average length of 365.25 days, and the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
has an average length of 365.2468 days.
The astronomer's mean tropical year which is averaged over equinoxes and solstices is currently 365.24219 days, slightly shorter than the average length of the year in most calendars, but the astronomer's value changes over time, so William Herschel
William Herschel
Sir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19...
's suggested correction to the Gregorian calendar may become unnecessary by the year 4000.
Quarters
The calendar year can be divided into 4 quarters, often abbreviated Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4:- First quarter: from the beginning of January to the end of March
- Second quarter: from the beginning of April to the end of June
- Third quarter: from the beginning of July to the end of September
- Fourth quarter: from the beginning of October to the end of December
See also
- CalendarCalendarA calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
- Calendar reformCalendar reformA calendar reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar.Most calendars have several rules which could be altered by reform:...
- Common yearCommon yearA common year is a common type of calendar year. It has exactly 365 days and so is not a leap year. More generally, it is a calendar year without intercalation....
- Fiscal year
- Year#Other annual periods
- Academic termAcademic termAn academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
- ISO 8601ISO 8601ISO 8601 Data elements and interchange formats – Information interchange – Representation of dates and times is an international standard covering the exchange of date and time-related data. It was issued by the International Organization for Standardization and was first published in 1988...
- ISO week dateISO week dateThe ISO week date system is a leap week calendar system that is part of the ISO 8601 date and time standard. The system is used in government and business for fiscal years, as well as in timekeeping....
- Leap yearLeap yearA leap year is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year...
- Seasonal yearSeasonal yearThe seasonal year is the time between successive recurrences of a seasonal event such as the flooding of a river, the migration of a species of bird, or the flowering of a species of plant....
- YearYearA year is the orbital period of the Earth moving around the Sun. For an observer on Earth, this corresponds to the period it takes the Sun to complete one course throughout the zodiac along the ecliptic....