ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Egyptian calendar

Okay, kiddo! The Egyptian calendar is a way to keep track of the passage of time in ancient Egypt. You know how we have months and years? Well, they had those too, but their calendar was a bit different from ours.

The Egyptian calendar had 12 months, just like ours does. But each month had exactly 30 days. That's different from our calendar because some months have 31 days and others have 28 or 29 (if it's a leap year).

At the end of the 12 months, the Egyptians had 5 extra days. They used these days for festivals and holidays, so they didn't have to work during that time. That's kind of like our holidays, but instead of having one day off, they had 5!

The Egyptians also had a special way of naming their months. Each month was named after a god or goddess, like Thoth, the god of wisdom, or Bastet, the goddess of cats.

Finally, the Egyptians used their calendar to keep track of important events, like the flooding of the Nile River. When the Nile flooded, it was a good thing because it meant that the land would be fertile and they could grow crops. But they had to know when the flooding was going to happen so they could prepare. That's why the Egyptian calendar was so important to them.

So that's the Egyptian calendar, in a nutshell. It's how the ancient Egyptians kept track of time, named their months after gods and goddesses, and prepared for important events like the flooding of the Nile River.
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