Decimal calendar

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The Gregorian calendar, although enjoying near universal acceptance, has sometimes been criticized as being cumbersome, inefficient and culturally imperialistic; as a result a number of decimalized alternatives have been proposed as reforms.

The French Republican Calendar, which was introduced along with decimal time in 1793, was the first of these. It consisted of a 12 month year, with each month consisting of three 10-day weeks, called décades. It was utilized as the official calendar of France for a period of 12 years, but was abolished by Napoleon on January 1, 1806.

A similar reform calendar was introduced during the early years of the Soviet Union, but with 5-day weeks, so it could not be truly considered decimal.

No decimal calendar proposal to date has gained a level of public acceptance sufficient to ensure its longterm success, and some have argued that the cost of any proposed conversion would far outweigh the savings that it might deliver.