Voting Station

French Republican Calendar

Please vote to return to collections.

Event

The Resume

    (September 22, 1792-December 31, 1805)
    Adopted by the French Republic
    Calendar began with the founding of the Republic as day 1, year I
    Featured 12 months of 30 days
    Each month contained three 10-day 'weeks' called decades
    Five days (six in leap years) were placed at the end of the year to keep in line with the solar year
    Months:
    Autumn: Vendemiaire ('grape harvest'), Brumaire ('fog'), Frimaire ('frost')
    Winter: Nivose ('snowy'), Pluviose ('rainy'), Ventose ('windy')
    Spring: Germinal ('germination'), Floreal ('flower'), Prairial ('pasture')
    Summer: Messidor ('harvest'), Thermidor ('summer heat'), Fructidor ('fruit')

Why French Republican Calendar might be annoying:

    It pretentiously used Roman numerals for its years.
    The calendar was not formally adopted until October 24, 1793, by which time it was already year II.
    You got a day of rest every 10th day instead of every seventh.
    The Brits lampooned the new months as Wheezy, Sneezy and Freezy; Slippy, Drippy and Nippy; Showery, Flowey and Bowery; and Wheaty, Heaty and Sweety.
    The decree establishing the calendar listed two contradictory methods of determining leap years, leading to a dispute over whether year XIX or year XX should have been a leap year.
    In addition to adopting a new calendar, the Republic tried to introduce decimal time, with each day divided into ten decimal hours, each hour into 100 decimal minutes and each minute into 100 decimal seconds.
    The calendar was brought back for less than a month during the Paris Commune (May, 1871).

Why French Republican Calendar might not be annoying:

    Some of France's most prominent scientists helped design the calendar.
    Decimal time was no longer mandatory after 1795.
    The decades were abolished in favor of seven day weeks in 1802.
    The whole experiment was short-lived enough that the question of whether year XIX or year XX should be a leap year was moot.
    Thermidor lives on in the name of lobster Thermidor.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 23 Votes: 60.87% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 59 Votes: 72.88% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 21 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 62 Votes: 64.52% Annoying