Date Estimate
Carri Seargent
The Gregorian calendar is the most prevalently used calendar today. Within this calendar, a standard year consists of 365 days with a leap day being introduced to the month of February during a leap year. The months of April, June, September, and November have 30 days, while the rest have 31 days except for February, which has 28 days in a standard year, and 29 in a leap year.
The Gregorian calendar is a reformed version of the Julian calendar, which was itself a modification of the ancient Roman calendar. The ancient Roman calendar was believed to be an observational lunar calendar, based on the cycles of the moon's phases. The Romans were then believed to have adopted a 10-month calendar with 304 days, leaving the remaining 50 or so days as an unorganized winter. This calendar allowed the summer and winter months to become completely misplaced, leading to the adoption of more accurate calendars.
The Republican calendar later used by Rome followed Greek calendars in its assumptions of 29.5 days in a lunar cycle and 12.5 synodic months in a solar year, which align every fourth year upon the addition of the intercalary months of January and February. From this point, many attempts were made to align the Republican calendar with the solar year including the addition of an extra month to certain years to supplant the lack of days in a particular year. In 46 BC, the calendar was further reformed by Julius Caesar, introducing an algorithm that removed the dependence of calendars from the observation of the new moon. In order to accomplish this, Caesar inserted an additional 10 days into the Republican calendar, making the total number of days in a year 365. He also added the intercalation of a leap day every fourth year, all in an attempt to further synchronize the Roman calendar with the solar year.
Despite all efforts, the Julian calendar still required further reform, since the calendar drifted with respect to the equinoxes and solstices by approximately 11 minutes per year. By 1582, this resulted in a difference of 10 days from what was expected. Pope Gregory XIII addressed this by essentially skipping 10 days in the date, making the day after October 4, 1582, October 15. An adjustment was also made to the algorithm of the Julian calendar that changed which century years would be considered leap years. Under the Gregorian calendar, century years not divisible by 400 would not be leap years. These changes reduced the error from 1 day in 128 years, to 1 day in 3,030 years with respect to the current value of the mean solar year.
The adoption of the Gregorian calendar occurred slowly over a period of centuries, and despite many proposals to further reform the calendar, the Gregorian Calendar still prevails as the most commonly used dating system worldwide.
A holiday is a day that, either by custom or by law, is set aside such that regular activities like going to work or school are suspended, or at least reduced. The term "holiday" can be interpreted differently, depending on the region. In the U.S., paid leave is typically referred to as "vacation," while national, religious, or cultural days off are referred to exclusively as "holiday." In some regions, however, such as the United Kingdom or former British colonies, the term holiday can also refer to paid leave.
Generally, holidays are meant to commemorate some event, person, or group of cultural or religious significance. Although certain holidays, such as Christmas and New Year's Day, are widely celebrated worldwide, most countries have their own set of holidays that are specific to the country, and even the same holidays may be observed differently within countries: some may receive a full suspension of typical daily activities, while others may only get partial days off. Certain countries have holidays that essentially shut down almost all businesses. As an example, in Brazil, Carnaval do Brasil results in almost a full week in which only industrial production, retail establishments, or carnival-related businesses, function.
This calculator is mainly geared towards U.S. holidays, but holidays specific to a given country can be entered manually. Certain holidays can also be excluded. For a further level of specificity, federal holidays in the U.S. refer to holidays that have been recognized by the U.S. government; on these days, non-essential federal government offices are closed, and all federal employees receive paid leave. This is not necessarily true in the private sector, however, and which federal holidays a private sector employee receives is largely dependent on the discretion of the company. In some cases, an employee who is required to work on a federal holiday may receive compensation in the form of holiday pay in addition to their regular wages.
Certain holidays such as New Year's Day are referred to as "fixed holidays," since they fall on the same date every year. Others, such as the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., don't have a fixed date, because they occur on a "floating Monday"; in this particular case, the holiday occurs on the third Monday of January. Another widely observed holiday in the U.S., Thanksgiving, occurs on a "floating Thursday," the fourth Thursday In November, hence the dates of these holidays vary by year.Below are two tables showing the dates of federal holidays in the U.S. for 2024 and 2025.
For estimated tax purposes, the year is divided into four payment periods. Each period has a specific payment due date. If you don't pay enough tax by the due date of each payment period, you may be charged a penalty even if you're due a refund when you file your income tax return at the end of the year.
Note: If the due date for making an estimated tax payment falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the payment will be on time if you make it on the next day that's not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
This document reflects emerging clinical and scientific advances as of the date issued and is subject to change. The information should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed.
ABSTRACT: Accurate dating of pregnancy is important to improve outcomes and is a research and public health imperative. As soon as data from the last menstrual period, the first accurate ultrasound examination, or both are obtained, the gestational age and the estimated due date (EDD) should be determined, discussed with the patient, and documented clearly in the medical record. Subsequent changes to the EDD should be reserved for rare circumstances, discussed with the patient, and documented clearly in the medical record. A pregnancy without an ultrasound examination that confirms or revises the EDD before 22 0/7 weeks of gestational age should be considered suboptimally dated. When determined from the methods outlined in this document for estimating the due date, gestational age at delivery represents the best obstetric estimate for the purpose of clinical care and should be recorded on the birth certificate. For the purposes of research and surveillance, the best obstetric estimate, rather than estimates based on the last menstrual period alone, should be used as the measure for gestational age.
If pregnancy resulted from assisted reproductive technology (ART), the ART-derived gestational age should be used to assign the estimated due date (EDD). For instance, the EDD for a pregnancy that resulted from in vitro fertilization should be assigned using the age of the embryo and the date of transfer.
As soon as data from the last menstrual period (LMP), the first accurate ultrasound examination, or both are obtained, the gestational age and the EDD should be determined, discussed with the patient, and documented clearly in the medical record. Subsequent changes to the EDD should be reserved for rare circumstances, discussed with the patient, and documented clearly in the medical record.
When determined from the methods outlined in this document for estimating the due date, gestational age at delivery represents the best obstetric estimate for the purpose of clinical care and should be recorded on the birth certificate. For the purposes of research and surveillance, the best obstetric estimate, rather than estimates based on the LMP alone, should be used as the measure for gestational age.
Traditionally, determining the first day of the LMP is the first step in establishing the EDD. By convention, the EDD is 280 days after the first day of the LMP. Because this practice assumes a regular menstrual cycle of 28 days, with ovulation occurring on the 14th day after the beginning of the menstrual cycle, this practice does not account for inaccurate recall of the LMP, irregularities in cycle length, or variability in the timing of ovulation. It has been reported that approximately one half of women accurately recall their LMP 2 3 4. In one study, 40% of the women randomized to receive first-trimester ultrasonography had their EDD adjusted because of a discrepancy of more than 5 days between ultrasound dating and LMP dating 5. Estimated due dates were adjusted in only 10% of the women in the control group who had ultrasonography in the second trimester, which suggests that first-trimester ultrasound examination can improve the accuracy of the EDD, even when the first day of the LMP is known.
Accurate determination of gestational age can positively affect pregnancy outcomes. For instance, one study found a reduction in the need for postterm inductions in a group of women randomized to receive routine first-trimester ultrasonography compared with women who received only second-trimester ultrasonography 5. A Cochrane review concluded that ultrasonography can reduce the need for postterm induction and lead to earlier detection of multiple gestations 6. Because decisions to change the EDD significantly affect pregnancy management, their implications should be discussed with patients and recorded in the medical record.
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