The Gregorian Calendar vs 13-Month Time: Who Decided How We Live Our Lives?

Most of us move through life by a calendar we never questioned. January starts the year. February is short and awkward. Some months feel long, others disappear. Weeks break mid-month. Pay cycles drift. Energy cycles feel off.

That system is the Gregorian calendar, and while it works well enough for coordination, it is far from natural. It is irregular, uneven, and disconnected from the rhythms of the Earth.

What most people do not realize is that many alternatives have existed. Some were practical. Some were lunar. Some were deeply aligned with nature. And some actually worked so well that companies used them for decades.

The 13-Month Calendar Nobody Talks About

The International Fixed Calendar, also known as the Cotsworth Plan or the Eastman Plan, proposed something radical in its simplicity.

Thirteen months.
Each month exactly 28 days.
Four perfect weeks per month.

That gives you 364 days. One additional “blank day” is added at the end of the year, outside the week structure, creating a perfectly regular system. In leap years, a second blank day is added.

Every month starts on the same weekday.
Every date always falls on the same day of the week.
Accounting, payroll, and scheduling become effortless.

This was not just theoretical.

Kodak used this calendar internally for 61 years, from 1928 to 1989. It worked. It was stable. It simplified operations. They eventually stopped using it not because it failed, but because the rest of the world refused to change.

That alone should make us pause.

Ethiopia and the Experience of Time

While the West standardized around the Gregorian system, Ethiopia followed a very different path.

The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months.
Twelve months have 30 days.
The thirteenth month has 5 days, or 6 in a leap year.

Even more striking, Ethiopia’s calendar runs about 7 to 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. It is not symbolic. It is literal. According to their system, the year is different.

Same planet. Same Sun. Same Moon.
Different experience of time.

That alone reveals something important. Timekeeping is not universal truth. It is agreement.

Lunar calendars and Earth-based time

Many cultures chose to follow the Moon instead of political or economic needs.

The 13 Moon Calendar tracks 13 lunar cycles of 28 days, aligning human activity with emotional, biological, and natural rhythms.

The Celtic Tree Calendar ties each lunar period to a sacred tree, emphasizing seasonal wisdom, growth, and inner development.

The Anishinaabe Lunar Calendar names each moon based on what is happening in nature. Sap running. Strawberry harvesting. Freezing moon. This is time as relationship, not abstraction.

Notably, many of these systems begin the year in March.

Why March?

Because the spring equinox marks rebirth, renewal, and the return of life in the Northern Hemisphere. Seeds break open. Light overtakes darkness. Growth begins.

From a natural perspective, it makes far more sense than starting a year in the dead of winter.

So why did we choose the Gregorian system?

The Gregorian calendar was designed for standardization, governance, taxation, and control. It served empires and institutions well. That does not make it evil. It makes it functional for a specific purpose.

But it is not neutral.

Irregular months break natural rhythm.
Weeks detach from lunar cycles.
New Year’s Day floats without seasonal meaning.

Over time, humans adapted. But something subtle was lost. A sense of coherence with the Earth.

The quiet truth about time

Here is the part most systems never say out loud.

Time itself is a construct.

We divided cycles. Named them. Measured them. Then forgot we made them up. Calendars are tools, not reality. They shape behavior, productivity, and belief, but they are not truth itself.

That realization opens a much bigger conversation. One about who we are without clocks. Who we are without deadlines. Who we are when we listen to light, dark, rest, and growth instead of numbers.

But that really is a story for another day.

For now, it is enough to remember this.
There have always been other ways to count time.
And there may be better ones waiting to be remembered.

A Simple Invitation Forward

If this exploration of time, calendars, and natural cycles stirred something in you, there are two easy ways to stay connected.

Support the work at Awakening the Universe
Your donations help keep this work alive, accessible, and growing. If you feel aligned, contributions are deeply appreciated and tax deductible. Give only if it feels right.

Join The Awakening Collective
This is a free space where we gather with shared intention, curiosity, and respect. We explore ideas like these together, hold space for one another, and focus on conscious creation without tearing down what is still forming.

If you are questioning time, rhythm, and how we live inside these systems, you are already part of the conversation.