The origin of the Ethiopian Calendar is very much the same as the ancient solar Coptic calendar from Egypt, the oldest in history. It is believed that the famous Imhotep, the supreme official of King Djoser C.2670 B.C. played a part in the development of this calendar.
Going further back, the ancient Egyptians used a civil calendar based on a solar year that consisted of 365 days, without making any adjustment for the additional quarter of a day each year.
Each year had 12 months and the heliacal rising of Sirius coincided with the highest point of the River Nile flood at Memphis, marking the first day of the year. The new year of the ancient Egyptians
started on Meskerem 1 which is the date of the Ethiopian new year (which also signals the end of Noah’s flood). This ancient Egyptian Coptic solar calendar consisted of 12 x 30-day months with five extra festival days at the end of the year.
This is the same concept as the Ethiopian Calendar of 13 months – 12 months of 30 days each
and then Pagumay at the end of the year, a month of 5 or 6 days depending whether the year
is a leap year or not.
The Ethiopian new year starts on 11 September in the Gregorian Calendar (G.C.) or on the
12th in (Gregorian) Leap Years. The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the
Gregorian so that the extra month always has 6 days in a Gregorian Leap Year. The
connection between ancient Egypt and Ethiopia is unclear as the extent of territory
connected to geographical names such as Nubia and Kush is debatable.
The Tesfa Tours Calendar is available with all the Ethiopian dates set into the western
calendar. In addition to the Ethiopian dates, it shows saints’ days, fasts, and other
holidays celebrated in Ethiopia. A must have for anyone living in Ethiopia or planning to visit.
Contact: calendars@tesfatours.com for more information.
Calendars sell for 500 birr this year and the agendas/diary for 400 birr.
www.tesfatours.com
+251(0)11-124 5178 /-126 0303 /-126 0301 (landlines) +251(0) 92 160 2236 (mobile)
