The Ethiopian Calendar: Seven Years Behind The World

A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific Northwest, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Time has always been a constant in the world around us and our lives. Although we still try to study and understand it, we have mastered how to measure it. Systems like calendars and equipment like clocks are specifically designed for this purpose.

Yes, these tools indeed help to measure time. However, their uses vary in the length of time that they work with. While clocks quantify time in seconds, minutes, and hours, calendars do it in days, weeks, months, years, centuries, and millennia.

Interestingly, we still have calendars that vary in calculations and differ in dates and uses. The Ethiopian Calendar is one of these and while it is less popular worldwide, it is one of the oldest calendars ever and is still in use in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

This is a look into the calendar that moves seven to eight years behind the rest of the world.

The Ethiopian 2016 (2023 worldwide) calendar – Ethio Explore

Time has always been a constant in the world around us and our lives. Although we still try to study and understand it, we have mastered how to measure it. Systems like calendars and equipment like clocks are specifically designed for this purpose.

Yes, these tools indeed help to measure time. However, their uses vary in the length of time that they work with. While clocks quantify time in seconds, minutes, and hours, calendars do it in days, weeks, months, years, centuries, and millennia.

Interestingly, we still have calendars that vary in calculations and differ in dates and uses. The Ethiopian Calendar is one of these and while it is less popular worldwide, it is one of the oldest calendars ever and is still in use in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

This is a look into the calendar that moves seven to eight years behind the rest of the world.

Ethiopian Calendar – General Features

The Ethiopian calendar is a solar calendar because it establishes its calculations on how long it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun. Not all calendars make use of this basis for their measurements.

The Ethiopian calendar dates as far back as the 4th century, and takes its root from the Egyptian calendar, which is even older. While its predecessor lacked the provisions for leap years, the Ethiopian variant factors in the calculations for them.

Also known as the Ge’ez calendar, it has thirteen months, with twelve having 30 days, leaving the last month with 5 days and 6 days in leap years. These months are listed below:

Although it closely resembles the Coptic calendar, they have different year numbers and month names. Interestingly, the Coptic calendar also came from the same predecessor – the Egyptian.

The month of Meskerem (2016), showing its Gregorian counterpart (September 2023) – Habesha Cuisine

The Ethiopian Calendar VS. The Gregorian Calendar?

Although they both make provisions for leap years, these calendars have some significant differences. The Gregorian calendar, which most of the world accepts, uses the same calculations as the Ethiopian calendar.

However, both almanacs disagree on the date of the Birth of Jesus Christ. While the Gregorian calendar puts the date on the 25th of December, the Ethiopian version has it on the 7th of January. The difference in the calculation for this date puts the Ethiopian calendar 7 to 8 years behind its Gregorian counterpart.

It stretches as far back as the date of the Annunciation, which is the day the angel Gabriel announced to the virgin Mary that she would be the mother of the Lord through virgin birth.

The three wise men paying homage to baby Jesus – ENA

When it comes to the year, the Gregorian calendar puts the birth of Christ between 1BC and 1AD. However, the Ethiopian almanac places it around 7 to 8 years later.

The difference in format also differs between the two calendars. We know that our standard calendar has 12 months with February having an extra day every leap year. However, the Ethiopian calendar has 13 months with the last month having 6 days if it is a leap year.

A direct comparison shows that the Ethiopian year starts on the 11th of September of the Gregorian year. But if the following year will be a Gregorian leap year, the Ethiopian year starts on the 12th of September instead.

Where Does it Find Use?

As I mentioned earlier, the Ethiopian Calendar is mainly used as the official almanac in Ethiopia. In Eritrea, the people use it primarily for festival dates and cultural purposes. However, these are not the only ones who rely on this calendar for their dates.

The Orthodox Tewahedo, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Protestant Christian P’ent’ay churches use this calendar officially. They use it to calculate religious dates, making them celebrate Christian holidays on different days from the Gregorian calendar that other churches use.

Wrapping Up

Despite its age, the Ethiopian calendar remains in use and that fascinates a lot of people, including myself. Next time you celebrate a date, remember that somewhere around the world, that event might have happened on a different day.

I will wrap this post up by suggesting a fun activity you can do alone or with friends. I promise you, it does not take long. Try to find the Ethiopian date for your birthday and pinpoint it on the Gregorian calendar.

You can use the table provided earlier to make it faster. Let us know in the comments section. Have fun!