Philippines skips 31 December 1844 to align its calendar

Background. From 1521 to 1844 the Philippines was one day behind the calendars of Asia, Europe, and the Americas. During that period, which lasted from Saturday, March 16, 1521 (Julian Calendar) until Monday, December 30, 1844 (Gregorian Calendar), the Philippines had the same date as Mexico. The Spanish Governor-General Narciso Claveria, widely recognized as a reformist and modernizing administrator, consulted the Archbishop of Manila, Jose Segui, about fixing the time discrepancy compared to the Philippines' Asian neighbors, in order to ease trade for the economic sustenance of the territory.

The Decree. On August 16, 1844, Clavería issued a decree removing Tuesday, December 31, 1844, from the Philippine calendar. This decision was made in consultation with the Archbishop of Manila, Jose Segui, to address the time discrepancy. The goal was to synchronize the local calendar with Asian standards, thereby improving trade conditions for the territory.

Implementation. The calendar adjustment took effect at the end of 1844. Monday, December 30, 1844, was immediately followed by Wednesday, January 1, 1845. This shift added one day to the local time, effectively aligning the Philippines with the UTC+08:00 time zone and correcting the long-standing date offset.