The Calendar Reform

On the 23^rd December 1925, the international calendar and time were adopted. This reform ended the complication and difficulties which the use of three different calendars caused Turkey in her international relations and her internal life.

The Ottoman Empire followed the Arab lunar calendar. The lunar month begins when the moon first appeared in the sky as a thin crescent, which is still referred to as "new moon". New moon occurs when the moon lies directly between the earth and the sun and, in consequence, can not be seen. The cycle of the moon's phases takes a little over 29 1/2 days and therefore in Arab calendar a lunar year contains 354 days and some hours, which show differences from place to place. According to the calendar used in the West, the year is that period of time in which the earth performs one revolution in its orbid around the sun. The year contains approximately 365 days and 6 hours. The lunar year is 11 days and 6 hours shorter than the solar year. The months of the lunar calendar do not keep the same season in relation to the sun. Therefore in countries where the lunar calendar is used, social gatherings such as the New Year, religious festivities or similar occasions may fall either on winter or summer. Besides the lunar calendar, it was necessary to use the solar calendar, which enabled observation of the growth of plants.

It was also complicated to make the months and days agree. The Imperial Government found it necessary to adopt a solar calendar. From then on, two calendars had been in use; the Turkish solar calendar for official purposes, and the lunar calendar, together with the international Georgian calendar, which had to be resorted to in order to find out what day the rest of the world was living in.

Another reform which was approved on the same day abolished the traditional division of the hours in favour of international time. From then on the time of sunset is considered 12 O'clock and afterwards the time runs as 1,2,3...Thus it had been that in earlier times the Turks had followed the time called "alaturca" , while the foreigners had followed the "alafranga" time, which as easy to imagine, gave rise to frequent misunderstandings.

Source : "Atatürk" by Jorge Blanco Villalta, translated from Spanish by William Campbell,

Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1991