I reckon my favourite month is probably Prairial, and my least favourite the one we’re entering right about now — Frimaire.
For those scratching their heads, I’m referring to the French Revolutionary Calendar (also called the ‘Republican’ calendar) which divided the year up in the following way:
The Republican calendar year began the day the autumnal equinox occurred in Paris, and had twelve months of 30 days each, which were given new names based on nature, principally having to do with the prevailing weather in and around Paris. The extra five or six days in the year were not given a month designation, but considered Sansculottides or Complementary Days.
When you think about it, although it’s useful to have everyone in the world using the same calendar, doing so is almost an act of cultural violence.
I live in the North East of England, a place that historically has been known as Northumbria. What would a Northumbrian calendar look like? I don’t think it would be so different to the French Revolutionary one, except we’d probably use month names like ‘Clarty‘:
Autumn:
Vendémiaire (from French vendange, derived from Latin vindemia, “vintage”), starting 22, 23, or 24 September
Brumaire (from French brume, “mist”), starting 22, 23, or 24 October
Frimaire (From French frimas, “frost”), starting 21, 22, or 23 November
Winter:
Nivôse (from Latin nivosus, “snowy”), starting 21, 22, or 23 December
Pluviôse (from French pluvieux, derived from Latin pluvius, “rainy”), starting 20, 21, or 22 January
Ventôse (from French venteux, derived from Latin ventosus, “windy”), starting 19, 20, or 21 February
Spring:
Germinal (from French germination), starting 20 or 21 March
Floréal (from French fleur, derived from Latin flos, “flower”), starting 20 or 21 April
Prairial (from French prairie, “meadow”), starting 20 or 21 May
Summer:
Messidor (from Latin messis, “harvest”), starting 19 or 20 June
Thermidor (or Fervidor*) (from Greek thermon, “summer heat”), starting 19 or 20 July
Fructidor (from Latin fructus, “fruit”), starting 18 or 19 August
This week’s been a bit rubbish, mainly on the health front (migraines, erratic sleep patterns). So I don’t really want to go back through it, other than say that I published the following here, and on Thought Shrapnel:
Last week, I came across a new platform called Wonder which allows for participants to self-organise into video chat groups.
As an early product, it’s not without its quirks, but this kind of thing is gold for facilitators interested in more democratic and participatory workshops.
Here’s why I like it:
Participants can leave a group and join or form a new one at any time
Everyone entering the room can be asked an icebreaker question, the answer to which is displayed when you hover over their avatar
When you’re outside a group (like me in the screenshot above) you can see who’s talking in a group
It’s got all of the usual screensharing functionality you’d expect
Admins/facilitators can ‘broadcast’ to all groups (without having to recall them)
This is much better than Zoom rooms, which have to be set up by the facilitator, and which perpetuates a hierarchical power relationship.
It did take me back to a decade ago, wandering around a classroom when I ‘dropped in’ to groups. People stopped talking for a moment. But that’s always the case when someone joins a group that’s already having a conversation.
So long as the pricing doesn’t end up being ridiculous, I’m planning to use Wonder for any meetings where I need breakout rooms. Although Zoom has superior video quality (and backgrounds!) I’m very impressed with what Wonder offers me as a facilitator.
