You should know this ahead to fully enjoy that beauty of compact, mathematically sound week chart, and perhaps the accompanying momentary illusion that world makes sense again.
The next opportunity to enjoy most compact possible calendar page will be in 2038, so don’t miss it!
(Bonus: if you notice that 1st week is week 5 so apparently January 2027 also has 4 weeks–what gives? That’s because in ISO week numbering, first three days of January 2027 count as week 53 of 2026. In other words, week 1 of 2027 starts on January 4th.)
If your calendar starts with Sunday, this past February of 2026 was actually compact, and the next one is in 2037.
You’ll find both Sunday-first and Monday-first calendars here in Britain, though I couldn’t tell you the ratio and popularity of each.
I’m usually given one as a Christmas gift and that particular make are usually Monday-first, but last year’s was Sunday-first for the first time in ages, which took me by surprise.
Also, my computer preference is Monday first wherever it can be set.
That might derive from locale settings, but I’ve carried over configs for literally decades at this point, so I couldn’t tell you for sure.
I never knew this! I’ve never in my life seen a Monday first calendar in the US