The Gregorian Calendar, although enjoying near universal acceptance, has often been viewed as cumbersome, inefficient and culturally imperialistic; as a result a number of decimalized alternatives have been proposed.

The French Revolutionary Calendar, which was introduced as an adjunct to the metric system was the first of these. It consisted of a 12 month year, with each month consisting of three 10-day weeks. It was utilized as the official calendar of France for a period of 12 years, but was abolished by Napoleon in 1804.

A similar reform calendar was introduced during the early years of the USSR, however it too proved unsuccessful in the face of popular opposition.

In recent years other proposals have emerged, including the Annus Novus system promoted by Atlantium, which consists of 10 alternating months of 36 and 37 days.

No decimal calendar proposal to date has gained a level of public acceptance sufficient to ensure its longterm success, and some have argued that the cost of any proposed conversion would far outweigh the savings that it might deliver.

Related topics: Metric time

External Links: Annus Novus Calendar