Did you know that Ethiopia has its own calendar system?
The calendar we’re familiar with in the West is known as the Gregorian Calendar. The Ethiopian Calendar is a little different. Like the Gregorian Calendar, the Ethiopian Calendar year also has 365 days (during a non leap-year), but is divided into thirteen months instead of twelve. The first twelve months each have exactly 30 days, while the thirteenth month makes up the remaining five or six days. The Ethiopian New Year begins during our month of September and – due to an alternate calculation in determining the date of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus – is dated about eight years behind!
Inside this colorful, wire-bound calendar, you’ll see some of the beautiful faces and images of Ethiopia and the Yezelalem Minch ministry. Each month shows the corresponding Ethiopian months in Amharic – the primary language of Ethiopia. Each calendar day also displays the corresponding Ethiopian date, month, and year, as well as major public holidays in both the USA and Ethiopia.