Earlier in January, Richard Littler – the fella behind the creepy cool Scarfolk Counciil posts – posted a toot alerting us all to something I don’t think I’d ever really thought about before: the 2023 calendar is identical, down to the day and date of each month, to the 1978 calendar.
Note: I’ve since learned that while the above is true, certain dates like Easter and the Lunar New Year don’t align.
Now, given he had a theme in mind, Richard neglected to add that 1978 wasn’t the only year between then and now that would match, meaning that you could also look to the following years for a match: 2017, 2006, 1995, 1989, 1978, 1967, 1961, 1950, 1939, and 1933.
Alas, I was so excited by the suggested calendars in his toot, I didn’t bother to think of it!
So, uh, I instead went straight to eBay and started searching for old, used calendars from 1978. It seemed likely that some people would have kept theirs, right? And I did find quite a few, including the ones in Richard’s toot – and even with the original handwritten notes and events and special moments scrawled throughout. I was very tempted to pick up one of those, sampling a year in somebody’s life, so long ago. There was something romantic about that, I felt. Maybe most would consider it creepy, I don’t know.
But, as I scrolled, I came across an unused original of the 1978 Star Wars calendar shown above (in Richard’s toot), and unopened too!
So, I ordered it. It wasn’t too expensive, but I definitely could’ve bought a few regular calendars from the little kiosks at the mall for a lot less, haha.
I’d ordered the calendar from far-off America in late December, so I figured I would probably miss out on using the January page. But, luckily it arrived in mid-Jan (speedy!), so that was a welcome bonus.
As hoped, the calendar arrived exactly as promised: untouched, in its unopened original box, aged and worn but otherwise undamaged. Honestly, I even consider the box a keeper! The calendar itself is in perfect as-new condition, and now it’s hanging proud on my wall.
It’s clear the images are just scenes from the film rather than any publicity shots – which means they don’t all look great, and some of the selections even feel a bit lazy, but it’s still a lovely thing to behold. And there are two important details that I love: It has an awesome C-3PO centrefold, and the year’s most important month – August – stars my two favourite characters in the film, the lovable partners in crime and heroism, Chewie and Han.
So, what next?
In 2024, you can re-use calendars from these years: 1996, 1968, and 1940.
Maybe this $350 Rocky Horror Picture Show calendar, signed by Tim Curry? How about this sealed Neon Genesis Evangelion ‘School Calendar’ for $89? Really, it’d be hard to go past this Gary Larson desk calendar for $25… might even snap that one up myself.
