The Ethiopian calendar has twelve months, all thirty days long, and five or sixepagomenal days, which form a thirteenth month.[2][3] The Ethiopian months begin on the same days as those of the Coptic calendar, but their names are inGeʽez. A sixth epagomenal day is added every four years, without exception, on 29 August of the Julian calendar, six months before the corresponding Julian leap day. Thus, the first day of the Ethiopian calendar year, 1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1900 and 2099 (inclusive), is usually 11 September (Gregorian). It falls on 12 September in years before the Gregorian leap year, however.[2]
A building in downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, sports bunting in the Ethiopian national colors of green, yellow and red to mark the Ethiopian Millennium on 11 September 2007.
The EthiopianNew Year is calledKudus Yohannes in Geʽez andTigrinya, while inAmharic, the official language of Ethiopia, it is calledEnkutatash meaning "gift of jewels".[4] It occurs on 11 September in the Gregorian calendar; except for the year preceding a leap year, when it occurs on 12 September. The Ethiopian Calendar Year 1998Amätä Məhrät ("Year of Mercy") began on Gregorian calendar 11 September 2005. The Ethiopian calendar years 1992 and 1996, however, began on the Gregorian dates of 12 September in 1999 and 2003 respectively.[citation needed]
This date correspondence applies for Gregorian years 1900 to 2099. The Ethiopian calendar leap year is every four without exception, while Gregorian centurial years are only leap years when exactly divisible by 400; thus, a set of corresponding dates will most often apply for a single century. As the Gregorian year 2000 is a leap year, the current correspondence lasts two centuries instead.[citation needed]
The start of the year (the Feast of El-Nayrouz) falls on 29 or 30 August (on the year just before the Julian leap year). This date corresponds to the Old-Style Julian calendar; the start of the year has been transferred forward in the currently used Gregorian calendar to 11 or 12 September (on the year just before the Gregorian leap year).[2] This deviation between the Julian and the Gregorian Calendar will increase with the passing of the time.[5]
The Ethiopian calendar, known locally as "የኢትዮጵያ ዘመን አቆጣጠር", stands apart from the Gregorian calendar used globally. With 13 months instead of 12, it includes 12 months of 30 days each plus a short 5- or 6-day month (Pagume) at the end. Additionally, Ethiopia follows a 7- to 8-year difference from the Gregorian calendar due to alternate calculations of the Annunciation. This ancient system, rooted in Coptic Christian traditions, preserves Ethiopia’s rich cultural identity and remains in daily use for religious events, festivals, and agricultural cycles.[6]
Unlike most countries, Ethiopia never fully adopted the Gregorian calendar, maintaining its traditional system as a symbol of independence and heritage. The calendar aligns with the Orthodox Tewahedo Church and marks important holidays like Enkutatash (New Year) on September 11 (or 12 in leap years). While modern businesses and international dealings use the Gregorian system, many Ethiopians still reference both calendars in daily life. This unique timekeeping reflects Ethiopia’s historical resilience and deep connection to its past.
To indicate the year, followers of the Ethiopian and Eritrean churches today use theIncarnation Era, which dates from the Annunciation of theIncarnation of Jesus on 25 March AD 9 (Julian), as calculated byAnnianus of Alexandriac. 400; thus, its first civil year began seven months earlier on 29 August AD 8. Meanwhile, Europeans eventually adopted the calculations made byDionysius Exiguus in AD 525 instead,[7] which placed the Annunciation nine years earlier (Anno Domini#New year) than had Annianus. This causes the Ethiopian year number to be eight years less than the Gregorian year number from January 1 until 10 or 11 September, then seven years less for the remainder of the Gregorian year.[4][7]
The most important era – once widely used byEastern Christianity, and still used by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt – was the Era of Martyrs, also known as theDiocletian Era, or the era of Diocletian and the Martyrs, whose first year began on 29 October 328.
Respective to the Gregorian and Julian New Year's Days, 3½ to 4 months later, the difference between the Era of Martyrs and theAnno Domini is 285 years (285= 15×19). This is because in AD 525,Dionysius Exiguus decided to add 15 Metonic cycles to the existing 13 Metonic cycles of theDiocletian Era (15×19 + 13×19 = 532) to obtain an entire 532 year medievalEaster cycle, whose first cycle ended with the year Era of Martyrs 247 (= 13×20) equal to year DXXXI. It is also because 532 is the product of the Metonic cycle of 20 years and thesolar cycle of 28 years. It has 13 months in a year.[7]
Around AD 400, an Alexandrine monk calledPanodoros fixed the Alexandrian Era (Anno Mundi = in the year of the world) and thedate of creation, on 29 August5493 BC. After the 6th century AD, the era was used by Egyptian, Ethiopian, and Eritrean chronologists. The twelfth 532 year-cycle of this era began on 29 August AD 360, and so 4×19 years after the Era of Martyrs.
BishopAnianos preferred the Annunciation as New Year's Day, 25 March. Thus he shifted the Panodoros era by about six months (to begin on 25 March 5492 BC). In the Ethiopian calendar this was equivalent to 15 Magabit 5501 B.C. (E.C.).[8] The Anno Mundi era remained in usage until the late 19th century.[9]
The four-year leap year cycle is associated with thefour Evangelists: the first year after an Ethiopian leap year is named theJohn-year, followed by theMatthew-year, and then theMark-year. The year with the sixthepagomenal day is traditionally designated as theLuke-year.[10]The leap year has 7 days every 700 years as opposed to 6 days every four years for the thirteenth month -Pagumen.The pagumen(ጳጉሜን) month has 5 days during the non-leap years.
These Gregorian dates are valid only from March 1900 to February 2100. This is because 1900 and 2100 are not leap years in the Gregorian calendar, while they are in the Ethiopian calendar, meaning dates before 1900 and after 2100 will be offset.
^Most Protestants in the diaspora have the option of choosing the Ethiopian calendar or the Gregorian calendar for religious holidays, with this option being used given that the correspondingeastern celebration is not a public holiday in thewestern world.
^"Walters Ms. W.850, Ethiopian Gospels". Retrieved8 February 2017.Church of Madhane Alam in Majate, 1892–1893, known from the endnote on fol. 95r, which gives a record in Amharic of a land grant to the church of Mǝğäte Mädḫane ‛Aläm, enacted in the Year of Matthew, 7385 Anno Mundi (= 1885 EC = 1892–1893 AD)
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