Gregorian Calendar

The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar.[1][2][Note 1] It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582. The calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar[3] involving a 0.002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, which helps set the date for Easter. Transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox countries continued to use the traditional Julian calendar and adopted the Gregorian reform after a time, at least for civil purposes and for the sake of convenience in international trade. The last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many (but not all) countries that have traditionally used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes.