Doomsday calculator

Every Gregorian year has a weekday shared by a set of easy dates. Learn that weekday, count from the nearest anchor, and you can work out any date without opening a calendar.

2026 lands on Saturday

In doomsday numbering, the century anchor is 2 (Tuesday) and the year offset is 4. That lands on 6 (Saturday). 2026 is a common year, so January and February use the common-year anchors.

2026 highlighted calendar

Filled cells are memorable anchors. Soft cells are every other date that falls on Saturday.

Jan 2026

Feb 2026

Wk MTWTFSS
05

Mar 2026

Wk MTWTFSS
09
14

Apr 2026

May 2026

Jun 2026

Jul 2026

Aug 2026

Wk MTWTFSS
31
36

Sep 2026

Oct 2026

Nov 2026

Wk MTWTFSS
44
49

Dec 2026

Memorable doomsdays

Even months are the easy doubles: 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12. Odd months use “work 9 to 5 at the 7-Eleven”: 5/9, 9/5, 7/11, and 11/7. Add Pi Day, the last day of February, and Jan 3 for 2026.

Jan 3 · The 3rd in 3 years out of 4

Feb 28 · Last day of February

Mar 14 · Pi Day

Apr 4 · Even months double: 4/4

May 9 · Work 9 to 5

Jun 6 · Even months double: 6/6

Jul 11 · At the 7-Eleven

Aug 8 · Even months double: 8/8

Sep 5 · Work 9 to 5

Oct 10 · Even months double: 10/10

Nov 7 · At the 7-Eleven

Dec 12 · Even months double: 12/12

How to calculate it

Start with the year, find its doomsday weekday, then walk from one memorable date in the same month.

  1. 1. Find the anchor

    First find the century weekday, then add the last-two-digits offset. The result is the year’s doomsday: the weekday shared by all the memorable dates.

  2. 2. Pick a nearby date

    For December, use 12/12. For August, use 8/8. For September, use 9/5. These dates already sit on doomsday, so they are your stepping stones.

  3. 3. Count the gap

    Move forward or backward from the nearby doomsday. Seven days changes the date but not the weekday, so only the leftover after whole weeks matters.

Weekday numbers

1 = Monday

2 = Tuesday

3 = Wednesday

4 = Thursday

5 = Friday

6 = Saturday

0 / 7 = Sunday

Try the year formula

2026 sits in the 2000s. That century starts on anchor 2 (Tuesday).

26 = 2 dozen years + 2 left over
offset = 2 + 2 + floor(2 / 4) = 4
(2 + 4) mod 7 = 6

So the doomsday for 2026 is Saturday. January uses Jan 3 because this is a common year.

Further reading: Doomsday rule on Wikipedia.