We have all seen, and possibly used an almanac at one time or another, but what are they in actuality? A definition of an almanac is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects, such as weather forecasts, farmer’s planting guides, and tide tables. There is also the rising and setting of the sun and moon, dates of upcoming eclipses and religious festivals. Each almanac is tailored to its specific group of readers, such as farmers, sailors, or astronomers.

Although, almanacs have existed in some form since the beginnings of astronomy the first printed edition appeared in Europe in 1457. It is known that Ancient Egyptian and Greek calendars showed festival dates and days thought to be lucky, or unlucky, while the Roman fasti named days upon which business could, or could not be conducted. Medieval psalters and missal calendars listed various holy days, and 12th-century manuscripts containing tables on the movements of the heavenly bodies are still referenced.

Almanacs are found across the world and many initially contained prophecies and predictions of the future as well as basic calendrical and astronomical data. With developing science in the 17th and 18th centuries the sensationalized elements disappeared to be replaced with exact tables of astronomical data.

Today there are multiple printed almanacs and at least five online editions covering special-purpose, astronomical, astrological, fictional, and almanac calculators. Many have been in print since the 17th century, but the oldest is the Enkhuizer Almanak, which was founded in 1595, and was first published in the city of Enkhuizen, before transferring to Amsterdam and then at the end of the 19th century to Haarlem. Interestingly only one person writes the entire Enkhuizer almanak. It celebrated its 430th edition in 2025. A remarkable feat for any published book.