Meeting each New Year, we never think that there are peoples and countries that, unlike us, live in the “future” or in the “past”, since they use a different own calendar, different from the Gregorian one, according to which we live.
Gregorian calendar
For the most part, countries around the world use the Gregorian calendar. It was introduced in 1582 to replace the Julian one. At first, it was used in Catholic countries, since its founder was Pope Gregory XIII.
Then it spread throughout the world. The difference between the two calendars is 13 days, thanks to which we celebrate the Old New Year.
Own calendars
But there are countries that do not use this calendar at all or use two at once - their own and the Gregorian one.
So, for example, a country like India has its own Unified National Calendar, according to which they now have 1941. Their calendar, which, by the way, was created not so long ago (1957), is based on the ancient chronology. This calendar is used by both India and Cambodia. The starting point in it is the date of Krishna's death (3102 BC). But that's not all. In this country, there are several more calendars that are used by individual nationalities and tribes.
Ethiopia is 8 years behind us on the calendar. Now 2012 is going on in this country. The year consists of 13 months. What's interesting: they have 12 months for 30 days, and 13 depends on which year is a leap year or not. It only takes 5 or 6 days. The beginning of the day in Ethiopia begins with sunrise. Their calendar is based on the ancient Alexandrian calendar.
Japan lives in 2032. In this country, the chronology is kept from the Nativity of Christ. But there is a peculiarity: the account starts from the year of the reign of the new emperor. That is, each emperor calls his time of reign in his own way - "Enlightened world", "The era of peace and tranquility" etc. They also use 2 calendars - the Gregorian one and the one that currently exists in this country.
Jews in Israel live according to the Jewish calendar, but the Gregorian calendar is also officially valid for them. The Jewish calendar has many features. For example, the beginning of the month begins strictly on the new moon. And the beginning of the year, that is, its first day, can fall on any day of the week, just not on Friday and Sunday. And for this, each previous year is lengthened by one day. Now in Israel, according to their calendar, the year 5780.
Thailand. In 2020, the year 2563 has come in this country. They also have their own calendar. Its peculiarity is that the beginning of its calculation begins on the day of the so-called acquisition by the Buddha of nirvana. Since Thailand is a country with a large number of foreign tourists, then an exception is made for them and in some places or on certain goods a date is indicated that corresponds to the Gregorian calendar.
In addition to these countries, such countries as China, North Korea, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, etc. also use their calendars.
