Almanacs Calendar Prototype in the Protestant Ethics Perspective

Abstract

Historically, there have been two main transnational models of the medieval almanacs-calendars universal type measuring time periods and possessing prognostic. The first one is represented initially by Franco-German almanacs and later in the most consistent realization – by the Russian literary “pocket books” explicating calendar connection poetically. The second model, of Anglo-Saxon origin, inherited more pronounced functional approach by implementing the calendar prototype in a practical, religious, and moral terms. In the context of almanacs that align with the European model – such as those from Russia and America – the classification of these almanacs coincides with the Romantic era. By examining the primarily serial American almanacs from this period, the almanacs type is considered as a communicative channel for dissemination of the Protestant ethics values. The article examines how prognostic almanacs-calendars become promoting the Protestant ethical canon. Since colonial times, almanacs have been widely utilized in America and served as a daily reading resource for settlers, akin to a “common Bible”. American almanacs of the first half of the 19^th century continued to function as practical guides, consistently including the calendar tables with the weather forecasts and astrological symbols, along with agricultural, commercial, and other socially significant information, as well as “poetry and anecdotes”. In this regard, the medieval almanacs calendar model has remained remarkably consistent. American almanacs, as a part of the popular culture, regulate everyday behavior and the decent life norms.