What is Lunar calendar?
[[File:Full moon.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|{{Center|Full moon}}]] A '''lunar calendar''' is a [[calendar]] that is based on the [[phases of the Moon]]. Because there are slightly more than twelve lunar months (29.53 days each) in a solar year, the period of 12 lunar months (354.37 days) is sometimes referred to as a '''lunar year'''. A common purely lunar calendar is the [[Islamic calendar]].The First Islamic Calendar was First introduced in the reign of 2nd khalipha Umar ibn khitab(r.a). It is calculated from one [[moon|crescent moon]] to the next crescent moon.<ref>Juan Eduardo Campo, ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (New York, NY: Facts On File, 2009), p. 124</ref> A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months. So the months are not linked with the [[season]]s. They [[wikt:drift|drift]] each solar year by 11 to 12 days. It comes back to the position it had in relation to the [[tropical year|solar year]] approximately every 33 Islamic years. It is used mainly for [[religious]] [[wikt:purpose|purpose]]s, but in [[Saudi Arabia]] it is the official calendar. Other lunar calendars often include extra months added occasionally to [[synchronize]] it with the [[solar calendar]]. The oldest known lunar calendar was found in [[Scotland]]. It dates back to around 8,000 [[BC]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://phys.org/news/2013-07-scotland-lunar-calendar-stone-age-rethink.html |title=Scotland lunar-calendar find sparks Stone Age rethink |author=Nancy Owano |date=27 July 2013 |publisher=Phys.org |accessdate=9 February 2015}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} {{sci-stub}} [[Category:Moon]] [[Category:Calendars]]