Ethiopia, country on the Horn of Africa. The country lies completely within the tropical latitudes and is relatively compact, with similar north-south and east-west dimensions.
The capital is Addis Abba (“New Flower”), located almost at the centre of the country. Ethiopia is the largest and most populated country in the Horn of Africa. With the 1993 secession of Eritrea, its former province along the Red sea, Ethiopia became landlocked.
In ancient times it remained centred on Aksum, an imperial capital located in the northern part of the modern state, about 100 miles (160 km) from the Red Sea coast. The present territory was consolidated during the 19th and 20th centuries as European powers encroached into Ethiopia’s historical domain. Ethiopia became prominent in modern world affairs first in 1896, when it defeated colonial Italy in the Battle of Adwa, and again in 1935–36, when it was invaded and occupied by fascist Italy. Liberation during World War II by the Allied powers set the stage for Ethiopia to play a more prominent role in world affairs. Ethiopia was among the first independent nations to sign the Charter of the United Nations, and it gave moral and material support to the decolonization of Africa and to the growth of Pan-African cooperation. These efforts culminated in the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (since 2002, the African Union) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, both of which have their headquarters in Addis Ababa.
An Ethiopian year is comprised of 13 months, and is seven years behind the Gregorian calendar.
Truth is, Ethiopians celebrated the new millennium on September 11, 2007; this is because the Ethiopians continued with the same calendar that the Roman church amended in 525 AD unlike the rest of the world.
Should we tell them about 2020 or should we let them find out themselves?
Ethiopia is the only country in the world with 13 months and their New Year starts on September 11 (September 12 in leap years), which implies that they are 7½ years behind Nigeria.
As a matter of fact, they are two months into 2013 while Nigerians are in 2020. #HistoryVille
For more update, vistit my instagram handle @indulge
Olalekan Ajimoti – Blogger, Content Writer, and Digital Marketer helping brands and retailers build 8-figure e-commerce since 2016.
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ok thanks mr
Olalekan Ajimoti
but the true calendar is this because the actual history of gregorian calendar is made and falsely revised by king gregory XIII, who made some changes to the previously used Julian calendar. Several countries that were under the dominion of the Catholic church had to accept the Gregorian calendar, which is named after the pope who first introduced it. At the time, many countries opposed the new system, which ordered them to drop 11 days from their Julian calendar. London residents took to the streets to protest the new calendar, holding banners that demanded, ‘give us back our 11 days’. The country refused to accept the Gregorian calendar until 1752; the Soviet Union was also a holdout until 1918, when it accepted the new calendar under the influence of its communist leaders, while Greece refused to switch until 1923.
Ethiopia, a country free of any colonial powers and influences of the Roman church, was not affected by the tides, and easily retained its original calendar, which claims that Jesus was born in 7 BC, and started counting days from that year on. Other calendars held that he was born in AD 1. The difference in the calendar that Ethiopia follows happened from this day forward, which is why the country’s calendar is seven to eight years behind.
The days of the month in the Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months in a year, 12 of which have 30 days. The last month, called Pagume, has five days, and six days in a leap year. In contrast, the Gregorian calendar has days that can be less or more than 30 days in a month. Some differences were the result of kings adding extra days on the months bearing their names in their honour in the Julian Calendar, such as July and August, which were named after Julius Caesar and Augustus and have 31 days each.
The Ethiopian Calendar’s four-year leap-year cycle is associated with the four evangelists of the Bible. The first year after an Ethiopian leap year is named the John year, and is followed by the Matthew year and then the Mark year. The year with the 6th epagomenal day is traditionally designated as the Luke year.
How many months are in the calendar?
Pagume, the 13th month in the Ethiopian calendar, comes from the Greek word epagomene, which means ‘days forgotten when a year is calculated’. This month has five days or six days in a leap year. According to the Ethiopian calendar, a year has 365 days, six hours, two minutes and 24 seconds. Once every four years, the six hours add up to 24 hours and become the sixth day in a leap year. Once in 600 years, the two minutes and 24 seconds add up to a full day and form a seventh day, which the Ethiopians call rena mealt and rena lelit.
Every 600 years, a unique star called Aqede comes out and shadows the sun, causing a total solar eclipse. As narrated by ancient Ethiopian books, Ethiopian elites knew long before modern-day scientists about solar eclipses, and predicted when it would take place.
Kevin Whipple / @Culture Trip
Ethiopia’s calendar today
Modern-day Ethiopia still embraces its ancient calendar. However, travellers hardly experience any inconveniences because of the calendar difference. Most Ethiopians are aware of the Gregorian calendar and some even use both calendars interchangeably.
As one of the few countries in the world with its own calendar system, Ethiopia celebrates important holidays on days that are different from the rest of the world. For instance, Ethiopia rings in the New Year on September 11, and not on January 1. The calendar offers foreign travellers the perfect excuse to hold two different celebrations for New Year’s and Several countries that were under the dominion of the Catholic church had to accept the Gregorian calendar, which is named after the pope who first introduced it. At the time, many countries opposed the new system, which ordered them to drop 11 days from their Julian calendar. London residents took to the streets to protest the new calendar, holding banners that demanded, ‘give us back our 11 days’. The country refused to accept the Gregorian calendar until 1752; the Soviet Union was also a holdout until 1918, when it accepted the new calendar under the influence of its communist leaders, while Greece refused to switch until 1923.
Ethiopia, a country free of any colonial powers and influences of the Roman church, was not affected by the tides, and easily retained its original calendar, which claims that Jesus was born in 7 BC, and started counting days from that year on. Other calendars held that he was born in AD 1. The difference in the calendar that Ethiopia follows happened from this day forward, which is why the country’s calendar is seven to eight years behind.
The days of the month in the Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months in a year, 12 of which have 30 days. The last month, called Pagume, has five days, and six days in a leap year. In contrast, the Gregorian calendar has days that can be less or more than 30 days in a month. Some differences were the result of kings adding extra days on the months bearing their names in their honour in the Julian Calendar, such as July and August, which were named after Julius Caesar and Augustus and have 31 days each.
The Ethiopian Calendar’s four-year leap-year cycle is associated with the four evangelists of the Bible. The first year after an Ethiopian leap year is named the John year, and is followed by the Matthew year and then the Mark year. The year with the 6th epagomenal day is traditionally designated as the Luke year.
and every year one is welcomed as transferred from one to other.
How many months are in the calendar?
Pagume, the 13th month in the Ethiopian calendar, comes from the Greek word epagomene, which means ‘days forgotten when a year is calculated’. This month has five days or six days in a leap year. According to the Ethiopian calendar, a year has 365 days, six hours, two minutes and 24 seconds. Once every four years, the six hours add up to 24 hours and become the sixth day in a leap year. Once in 600 years, the two minutes and 24 seconds add up to a full day and form a seventh day, which the Ethiopians call rena mealt and rena lelit.
Every 600 years, a unique star called Aqede comes out and shadows the sun, causing a total solar eclipse. As narrated by ancient Ethiopian books, Ethiopian elites knew long before modern-day scientists about solar eclipses, and predicted when it would take place.
Modern-day Ethiopia still embraces its ancient calendar. However, travellers hardly experience any inconveniences because of the calendar difference.
As one of the few countries in the world with its own calendar system, Ethiopia celebrates important holidays on days that are different from the rest of the world. For instance, Ethiopia rings in the New Year on September 11, and not on January 1. The calendar offers foreign travellers the perfect excuse to hold two different celebrations for New Year’s and Christmas.
When is the next eclipse with Aqede star?