In the decree of 5 October 1793 by the National Convention, the days following the last month of the year were named jours complémentaires and numbered serially. Only the leap day received a name:
1. premier jour complémentaire — First Complementary Day
2. second jour complémentaire — Second Complementary Day
3. troisième jour complémentaire — Third Complementary Day
4. quatrième jour complémentaire — Fourth Complementary Day
5. cinquième jour complémentaire — Fifth Complementary Day
The other days, decades, and months were also serially numbered. On 24 October of the same year, the poet Philippe-François-Nazaire Fabre, known as Fabre d'Églantine, made public his dislike of this naming convention. He suggested proper names for the months, the days of the months, and the days of the decades. For the jours complémentaires, he introduced the name Sansculottides. The individual days should have the following names:
1. fête du génie — Celebration of Talent
2. fête du travail — Celebration of Labour
3. fête des actions — Celebration of Policy
4. fête des récompenses — Celebration of Honors
5. fête de l’opinion — Celebration of Convictions
6. la Sans-culottide / la Sanculottide — "Day of the Revolutionary"
According to the proposal by Fabre d'Églantine: On 24 November 1793 these proposals were accepted with slight modifications. It was decided that the name should be written fêtes Sansculotides. The alternate spellings Sans-culotides and Sans-culottides were also used. The fête des actions was shifted to the first place and named fête de la vertu. The fête des récompenses went to the last place and the leap year day regained its old name:
1. fête de la vertu — Celebration of Virtue
2. fête du génie — Celebration of Talent
3. fête du travail — Celebration of Labour
4. fête de l’opinion — Celebration of Convictions
5. fête des récompenses — Celebration of Honors
6. fête de la Révolution — Celebration of the Revolution
On 24 August1795, the Sansculottides were renamed again to jours complémentaires. The fête du travail was also known as the fête du labour. The fête de l'opinion was also termed fête de l'option or fête de la raison. The Basque translation of the calendar for 1799 simply names the bethagail-egunak as bethagail-legun, bethagail-bigun,....
