The Hebrew calendar starts counting from the date of the creation of the world which, according to traditional computation, happened 5784 years ago. Months and holidays are established according to lunar cycles, while the seasons are based on the solar cycle.
As it is well known, in Judaism days begin at the sunset of the preceding day. For instance, Shabbat starts on Friday a few minutes before sunset and ends with the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. This use is based on the order reflected in the verse and there was evening and there was morning – ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר (Gen. 1:5). That said, what are the origins of the Hebrew calendar?
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In its original form, the months of our calendar were named by their number (first month, second month, etc.), a denomination that changed after the Babylonian exile (4th century BCE) when months were renamed according to Akkadian appellatives (Tishrei, Heshvan, Kislev, etc.). Furthermore, the current starting point of the calendar differs from the one referred to in the Torah because there are two ways of counting the years: starting on Tishrei, with the creation of the world; or starting on Nisan, with the exodus from Egypt (Exod. 12:2).
Until 359 CE the Sanhedrin oversaw the establishment of festival dates and then sent emissaries across the land to announce the holidays in the different cities. However, following the Roman persecutions under Emperor Constantius II (354 CE) and out of concern that the former system was no longer sustainable, the Nasi or leader of the Jewish community Hillel II (an amora of the 5th generation) decided to abolish the oral diffusion and fixed the calendar in writing so that it could be easily disseminated throughout the Jewish world.
Nowadays we still use the Hebrew calendar to commemorate religious and national holidays and to remember our deceased relatives. The modern State of Israel uses the Gregorian calendar for civil and administrative purposes, and the Hebrew calendar for holidays and national commemorations such as Independence Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, and Jerusalem Day.
Let us remember that, after releasing us from Egyptian bondage, the first mitzvah G-d gave us was precisely to fix a calendar for ourselves, as it is written, this month will mark the beginning of months for you; it will be the first month of the year for you