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“13 Months of Sunshine” goes a popular Ethiopian tourism slogan. Ever wondered what they mean? The Ethiopian calendar is different than the Gregorian calendar. The Ethiopian calendar is based on the Coptic calendar.
Like the Coptic calendar, the Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of 30 days each plus either five or six extra days each year, which they call the thirteenth month. The six-day month happens every 4 years and makes 366 days for that year, functioning just like our leap year.
The first month of the Ethiopian year, called Meskerem, begins in what we call September, on the 11th, except on the year after leap year, when it begins on the 12th of September. From September 11 to December 31, the Ethiopian Calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian (Western) Calendar. From January 1 to September 10, it is 8 years behind.
The months are:
Meskerem (September)
Tikimit (October)
Hidar (November)
Tahesas (December)
Tir (January)
Yekatit (February)
Megabit (March)
Miyazia (April)
Ginbot (May)
Sene (June)
Hamle (July)
Nehase (August)
Pagume (5 days, or 6 days in leap years).
If all this sounds way too confusing, you are not alone. Fortunately I have a handy dandy gadget to offer you. Here is a calendar conversion website. All you do is plug in the date in question, and you can convert it from Amharic to Gregorian or back the other direction.
This information will be particularly useful if you find yourself perusing Ethiopian-written records of your chid’s past, and you find yourself trying to figure out how on earth your toddler could have arrived at the orphanage 6 years ago!
Click here for today’s date
Our baby girl was given the name Meskerem by the orphanage. It’s just fun to see it in writing!