Eli5:why we use the solar calendar instead of the lunar calendar?

Question

Eli5:why we use the solar calendar instead of the lunar calendar?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Solar calendars are more useful for almost everything you’d want a calendar for:

* Length of daytime and nighttime depends on what day of the year it is, not what day of the month it is.
* Temperature and weather can be at least somewhat predicted by what day of the year it is, not by what day of the month it is.
* Seasonal cycles relevant to agriculture, animal husbandry, and astronomy depend on what day of the year it is, not what day of the month it is.

The only major advantage of lunar calendars is ease of use:

* Someone who’s bad at math may be able to count to 29½ but not to 365¼.
* If you lose count of what day of the month it is, and there’s nobody available to ask, you can tell (at least roughly) just by looking up at the sky. If you lose count of what day of the year it is, and there’s nobody available to ask, you’ll need a henge or at least a sextant, and the knowledge of how to use it.

So the question is a little bit like asking “Why do we use metal tools instead of stone ones?” Because we are advanced enough to be able to do so, that’s why.