What Are Lunar Based Calendars?

What are lunar based calendars?  Generally speaking, a lunar based calendar is one that is formed based on the different phases that the moon goes through over the course of time. There are a few different cultures that use lunar calendars, although some (like the Chinese) use these calendars only for symbolic reasons and otherwise use the standard Gregorian calendar.

Here are a few characteristics of a lunar based calendar to help explain what makes them different from a standard calendar:

• In a lunar based calendar, the phases of the moon and the stage of each phase are used to tell what day or period of the lunar year it is. This is in contrast to the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the amount of time it takes the Earth to complete a full rotation around the sun.
• The lunar based calendar is based on the fact that it takes approximately 29.53 days (on the Gregorian calendar) to complete 12 full lunar cycles. 

There are other forms of lunar calendars that have been adapted by different cultures over the course of time as well.

• For instance, the most popular lunar calendar, outside of the Islamic version, is the Chinese lunar calendar. While the Chinese primarily use the Gregorian calendar for most purposes, holidays and traditional events are celebrated based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Based on this calendar, for example, the Chinese New Year is a different day every year, and floats between the months that the Gregorian calendar considers to be the middle of January and the beginning of February every year.
• There are also lunar calendars that have different formats appropriate to the culture that adopts them, such as the Hebrew version.

So, now you know what lunar based calendars are and how they differ from Gregorian calendars. You also have some examples of lunar based calendars.