Spanish Word of the Day: Calendario (calendar)

The Spanish word calendario comes from the Latin word calendarium, which means account book or register. It is related to the other Latin word, calendae, which is the term for the first day of the month.

In ancient Rome, debts were due on the calendae (first day of month) and the calendarium (calendar) is the book in which these dates and other events were recorded. Over time, it evolved into what we know today, a calendario (calendar) used for timekeeping and scheduling.

Calendario is a masculine noun, and it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:

• el calendario = the calendar
• los calendarios = the calendars
• un calendario = a calendar
• unos calendarios = some calendars

A calendario is a useful tool for keeping track of tiempo (time) and includes information that helps keep us organized and informed. Each month has siete días de la semana (seven days of the week), which include:

• lunes =  Monday
• martes = Tuesday
• miércoles = Wednesday
• jueves = Thursday
• viernes = Friday
• sábado = Saturday
• domingo = Sunday

Each calendar year also has 12 meses (months). They are:

• enero = January
• febrero = February
• marzo = March
• abril = April
• mayo = May
• junio = June
• julio = July
• agosto = August
• septiembre = September
• octubre = October
• noviembre = November
• diciembre = December

The calendario also has fechas (dates) which are numbered starting from 1 all the way to the end of the month, which is typically 30 or 31 days. Each day is associated with a number.

In Spanish, the fecha (date) is said and written in the following way: 3 de enero (3 of January), or in detail it would be viernes 3 de enero del 1986 (Friday, 3 of January 1986). Notice that the order differs from how it’s said in English and that the days and months are not capitalised.

Fun Fact:

Año bisiesto (leap year) happens every four years. A día (day) is added to the month of febrero (February) to keep the calendar in sync with the Earth’s orbit around the sun. This is because the Earth takes about 365.2425 days to orbit the sun.

That extra 0.2425 of a day adds up over four years, and so an extra day is added to February every four years to make up for it.

Calendarios also hold information such as días festivos (holidays) and fechas especiales (special dates). This may include religious festivals, national holidays, important events, and other celebrations. Usually you see Navidad (Christmas), Año Nuevo (New Year), and Thanksgiving Day (Día de acción de gracias), and día de las brujas (Halloween) marked on a calendar.

Other calendarios might include the fases de la luna (phases of the moon) for people who are interested in knowing the ciclo lunar (lunar cycle). Some phases of the moon include:

• luna nueva = new moon
• cuarto creciente = crescent quarter
• luna llena = full moon
• cuarto menguante = last quarter

A calendario also shows the estaciones del año (season of the year). The four seasons are primavera (spring), verano (summer), otoño (autumn/fall), and invierno (winter).

Who invented the calendar?

You might be wondering who invented the calendar, but throughout history, various civilizaciones (civilizations) have played a role in the development of the calendario.

One of the earliest recorded calendarios was the one developed by the egipcios antiguos (ancient Egyptians). They created a calendario solar (solar calendar) based on the ciclo del sol (cycle of the sun). Their calendar is like the modern-day calendar in that they also divided the year into 12 meses (months) with 30 days each. Then, they added 5 extra days at the end of the year to make a total of 365 days.

Another famous calendar is the calendario Maya (Mayan Calendar). It is one of the most fascinating and sophisticated calendar systems ever created! It was designed based on both the ciclo solar y lunar (solar and the lunar cycles), not just the solar year. The calendario consisted of two main calendar systems called Haab’ and Tzolk’in.

The Haab’ was the Mayan version of the solar calendar and agricultural cycle that was made up of 365 days, divided into 18 months with 20 days each. It included a mes (month) at the end of the year called Wayen’ which only had 5 days. The second calendario, Tzolk’in, was a 260-day calendar that served for Mayan religious and ceremonial purposes, including astrología (astrology) and divinidad (divination). With this calendar, they determined which days to practice activities such as sacrificios (sacrifices) and ceremonias (ceremonies).

Fun Fact:

The Mayan calendar was as precise and accurate as the Gregorian calendar we use today. They were able to calcular (calculate) the length of the año solar (solar year) to be about 365.2420 days which is extremely close to the modern value of 365.2422 days! That is extremely accurate!

Los Mayas (The Mayans) were also skilled astrónomos (astronomers), and their calendar reflected this. The Mayans tracked the movements of the luna (moon), sol (sun), Venus (Venus), and other cuerpos celestes (celestial bodies) they saw in the sky. They used this information to predict eclipses (eclipses) and horarios agrícolas (agricultural schedules). Some communities in Latin America still use it today for these purposes.

The calendario Juliano (Julian calendar) was introduced by Julius Ceasar in 46 BCE and included 365 days and a leap year every four years. It was the basis of the Gregorian Calendar we use today. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII made changes to the Julian Calendar, which is the calendar we use today and we now call the Gregorian calendar. This calendar aligns with the revolución de la Tierra alrededor del sol (Earth’s revolution around the sun).

Fun Fact:

Año nuevo chino (Chinese New Year), which is also called año nuevo lunar (Lunar New Year), is based on the calendario lunar (lunar calendar) and falls on different days each year, usually between January 21^st and February 20^th. Some países (countries) that celebrate it include China, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, the día festivo (holiday) is called Tết and is centered around family and returning home. In China, it is the most important holiday of the año (year).

Different types of calendarios include:

• calendario gregoriano = Gregorian Calendar: the most common calendar used today around the world, which has 365 days a leap year every four years
• calendario lunar = Lunar Calendar: used in many cultures and it is based on the cycles of the moon
• calendario lunisolar = Lunisolar Calendar: used by the Chinese, Hebrew, and Hindu and keeps track of time by using both the sun and moon
• calendario académico = Academic Calendar: calendars used by schools and universities with their own dates that often begin in the fall and end in the spring, and track various holidays and breaks
• calendario fiscal = Fiscal Calendar: calendars used by businesses and governments that start on a different date

Spanish idioms featuring ‘calendario’