France Had A Completely Different Calendar After The Revolution

After the French Revolution in 1789, people wanted to get rid of EVERYTHING that had come before - not just the king, but all the boring bits of life that reminded them of him! They started with the months of the year - no more January, February, March - now there were months like Germinal, Messidor, Thermidor and Frimaire. These names indicated exactly what was happening in nature at the time. So 'Nivose' means 'Month of snow'. The calendar only lasted until 1806, probably because it was too confusing trying to keep up with the rest of the world!