The Ethiopian Calendar
Believe it or not, the calendar we’re familiar with in North America – the Gregorian Calendar – is not universal! Ethiopia’s calendar, with roots in the Coptic or Alexandrian calendar, is a little different. Like the Gregorian, the Ethiopian calendar year has 365 days, but is instead divided into thirteen months. The first twelve months have exactly 30 days, while the thirteenth month makes up the remaining five days (or six days in a leap year, which is every four years). The Ethiopian New Year begins during our month of September and, due to an alternate calculation of the date of the Annunciation of Mary and birth of Christ, is dated nearly eight years behind ours!
Inside this colorful, wire-bound calendar, you’ll see some of the beautiful faces and programs of the Yezelalem Minch ministry in Ethiopia. Each month shows the corresponding Ethiopian months in Amharic – the primary language of Ethiopia. Each day also displays the corresponding Ethiopian date, month, and year, as well as major public holidays in both the USA and Ethiopia.