Whether you have a calendar in your car, hanging around the house, or just use the one on your phone, everyone refers to their calendar from time to time, don’t they? But while there are always some differences in calendars around the world, none are more unique than the Ethiopian calendar.
So, why is the Ethiopian calendar so special? Well, there are actually a number of reasons that make it stand out from the calendars used around the world. In this article, we will learn some interesting Ethiopian time and date facts that make the country’s calendar so unique.
Ethiopian Calendar Today
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was the first to adopt the Ethiopian calendar, using a version that includes the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s fasting dates in addition to the official standard calendar.
The Ethiopian calendar is similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar in that both have 13 months, 12 of which have 30 days, with a leap month at the end of the year called Pagume, which means “forgotten day” in Greek. The last month of a leap year has five or six days.
The Ethiopian calendar is also similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar, with a year of 365 days and a leap year of 366 days every four years. The Ethiopian calendar, which originally originated in the Orthodox Tewahedo Church, has also influenced the structure and existence of the calendar.What year is it in Ethiopia?
The current year in Ethiopia is 2016. The Ethiopian year begins on 11 September, or 12 September in leap years in the Gregorian calendar. It is seven to eight years later than the Gregorian calendar year because of the different calculations used to determine the date of Jesus’ birth.
The Ethiopian calendar is different from the Coptic and Julian calendars; there is a difference of 276 years between the Coptic and Ethiopian calendars. Nevertheless, the Ethiopian calendar is closely related to the rules and different calculations influenced by the Coptic Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Ethiopia is the only African country that uses its own calendar system
Interesting fact about Ethiopian times
Seven years behind the rest of the world
Understanding the difference between the Ethiopian calendar and the more traditional Gregorian calendar is quite complicated. However, explaining the 7-year difference is actually surprisingly simple; in the Ethiopian calendar, it is believed that Jesus Christ was born in 7 BC.
The calendar counts days from that year, while other calendars (most commonly the Gregorian calendar) count days from the year Jesus was born in 1 AD. Many of the countries that use the Gregorian calendar today have been influenced by the Church of Rome, but Ethiopia has not been subjected to any outside influences, so it continues to use its own historical calendar, which means it is 7 years behind.
There are 13 months in a year
While the Gregorian calendar may be the most commonly used calendar in the world (especially in Western countries), Ethiopia is not the only country that uses its own calendar. However, even though many other calendars follow a 12-month pattern, the Ethiopian calendar is unique in this case because it has 13 months.
In the Ethiopian calendar, each month has 30 days and the last month of Pagum usually has 5 days or 6 days in leap years. So the total number of days is the same, but the layout is very different.
Christmas in January
If we convert the Ethiopian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, then Christmas will be celebrated on 7 January. In Ethiopia, Christmas is actually celebrated on the 29th day of the month of Tahsas, and the Christmas celebrations, although also very similar in many ways, are slightly different.
Christmas in Ethiopia is called Ganna (also known as Genna) and the day is usually marked by visits to churches, but there is also music and games. Gift-giving is not usually part of the celebrations, although some families do give gifts to younger children during this time.
Ethiopian New Year to be celebrated in September
It’s not just Christmas that has changed the setup of the Ethiopian calendar – the New Year actually falls in September. But why is this the case? Well, the layout of the calendar is the main reason, but there are some who believe that the Ethiopian calendar is set up this way because during this time of year the days and nights are equal.
The Ethiopian New Year holiday is known as Enkutatash, which roughly translates as “gift of jewels”, a meaning derived from the legend of King Solomon presenting jewels to the Queen of Sheba during her historic visit to Jerusalem. Upon her return to Ethiopia in September, there were celebrations and gifts.
Noon is at Six O’clock
The calendar measures time, but when marking dates, each day is measured in hours, minutes and seconds. This is where things change a bit in Ethiopia, because in Ethiopia, noon is not what you think it is – noon actually means six o’clock.
But why is that? Well, it’s because in Ethiopia, the day is measured differently and therefore the clocks work slightly differently. Instead of a 24-hour clock, you may be familiar with measuring each day with two 12-hour clocks. Dusk to dawn is one 12-hour period and dawn to dusk is another 12-hour period.
So instead of a 24-hour day, the day is measured in two 12-hour segments. This 12 and 12 system can be a bit confusing, but many foreigners actually report how easy it is to grasp after a while. So if you are visiting Ethiopia, make sure you familiarise yourself with Ethiopian time.
Public Holidays in Ethiopia
Holidays:
7 Jan : Ethiopian Christmas Day
20 Jan : Epiphany / Timkat
2 Mar : Adwa Victory Day
10 Apr : Eid al-Fitr
1 May: International Labor Day
3 May: Ethiopian Good Friday
5 May : Fasika
5 May : Patriots’ Day
28 May : Derg Downfall Day
17 Jun : Eid al-Adha
11 Sep : Ethiopian New Year
16 Sep : The Prophet’s Birthday
27 Sep : Meskel
Converting Ethiopian Date to Gregorian:
To convert an Ethiopian date (EY, EM, ED) to the Gregorian calendar, follow these steps.
First, add 7 or 8 years to the Ethiopian year (EY) to conform to the Gregorian calendar, adjusting for the leap year cycle. Subtract 1 from the Ethiopian month (EM) to calculate the Ethiopian month starting at 1. The Ethiopian day (ED) does not change. If the Ethiopian year is a leap year, add 1 day to the converted Gregorian date. For example, if the date in Ethiopia is April 25, 2015, the conversion will be the Gregorian date March 25, 2022.
Gregorian Date to Ethiopian Conversion:
Converting Gregorian dates (GY, GM, GD) to Ethiopian dates requires several steps. To account for the leap year cycle, 7 or 8 years are subtracted from the Gregorian year (GY) to be consistent with the Ethiopian calendar. Add 1 to the Gregorian calendar month (GM) to accommodate Ethiopian months starting with 1. If the Gregorian calendar year is a leap year, subtract 1 day from the converted Ethiopian date. For example, if the Gregorian date is 2022-03-25, the converted Ethiopian date is 2014-04-25.
However, you don’t have to do all these calculations yourself. We have created a user-friendly Ethiopian calendar converter above that allows you to effortlessly convert any date between Ethiopian calendar and Gregorian calendar and vice versa. Simply enter your dates and our converter does the rest, ensuring accurate and seamless conversions between the two calendar systems without the need for manual calculations.