Talk:Ethiopian calendar

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Date conversions
Ethiopian calendar months compared with Gregorian calendar months. I, Fassil Tassew Tadesse originally shared this so as to provide data of the Tropics and Temperates for these who want to make new research and conversion.

30 days of Meskeram is different from 30 days of September,

30 days of Tikimt ” ” 31 days of October,

30 days of Hadar ” ” 30 days of November,

30 days of Tahisas ” ” 31 days of December,

30 days of Tir ” ” 31 days of January,

30 days of Yekatit ” ” 28 or 29 days of February,

30 days of Megabit ” ” 31 days of March,

30 days of Miazia ” ”  30 days of April,

30 days of Ginbot ” ”   31 days of May,

30 days of Sene  ”   ”  30 days of June,

30 days of Hamle ” ”  31 days of July,

30 days of Nehase ” ”  31 days of August,

5 or 6 days of Pagume ” ”  6 to 10 or 11 of September

Categories Pagume 6, Pagumetropics of Ethiopia February in the temperates and Yekatit is in the tropics are different months. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.55.115.117 (talk) 10:06, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

Eternity of Pagume 6:

The day Pagume 6 is eternal because about 0.04107 seconds of Pagume 6 does recur per minute. The day Pagume 6, like all other day, has 24 hours in which the day has 1440 minutes (=24*60) or 86,400 seconds (=1440*60). The day Pagume 6 is the leap year day. Leap year day means the day recurs once in every four years. The number of days of four years is 1461 (=365.25*4). In the Ethiopian calendar system 1461 days is equal to the sum of 365 days of three ordinary years and 366 days of leap year (=365*3+366*1). We know two quantities:-the number of seconds of Pagume 6 is 86, 400, and the number of days of four years is 1461. Therefore, we inquire and answer here what is the average number of seconds of Pagume 6? We divide 86,400 seconds by 1461 days and get quotient 59.137577 seconds. This result shows that about 59.137577 seconds of Pagume 6 does recur per day. Besides, we are also able to determine that about 2.4640657 seconds of Pagume 6 (=59.137577 divided by 24 hours) does recur per hour. This shows that the quantity of the day Pagume 6 is about 2.4640657 seconds per hour. Finally dividing 2.4640657 seconds of Pagume 6 by 60 minutes gives about 0.04107 seconds. This shows that about 0.04107 seconds of Pagume 6 does recur per minute. The law of Pagume 6 is an eternal. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.55.115.117 (talk) 10:08, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

I have been trying to convert some dates from the Ethiopian Calander to the Gregorian Calander but have been told that the months have different numbers. Could anyone provide a list of the months of the year and the corresponding month numbers in the ethiopian calander.

Once I have the month numbers I will be able to put them into a calander converter website

Any help would be much appreciated

--Amxitsa 15:50, 12 September 2005 (UTC)


 * The table in the article lists the months (look under the first column, "Amharic"). The first month of the year is Meskerem. They are listed in order, so you should be able to simply number them 1 through 13 (note the 13th month is less than a week long). (Or maybe I misunderstood the qestion?) By the way today is 2 Meskerem, 1998. Melkam enkutatash! -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:36, 12 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Thanks, we didnt think it would be that simple, given that everything else seemed quite complicated. Now that we know May is the 9th month we have been able to work out all of the dates we need from the calendar converter website --Amxitsa 07:46, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

Year of Grace ?
On 6 May 2005 User:Llywrch wrote in the article:

Two other known methods for indicating the date, which are not fixed to an Era, are: Year of Grace, which is based on the 532-year Easter cycle; and a four-year repeating series of years named after the Evangelists in the order Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.1

With the note: As explained in Appendix IV, "The Ethiopian Calendar", C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, The Prester John of the Indies (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961).

'I'm not opposed that this referenced information figures in the article. My only problem is, like it is formulated, I can't understand how this "indication of the date" operated. Llywrch, please rewrite it for a good understanding.'

Joe Kress added on 5 September 2005: "whose first year began in lats AD 360". Help for my good understanding: A "Year of Grace" which is a not fixed era, which however has a first year in A.D. 360? (This should be (15+4)x19-1).

Paul Martin 15:49, 14 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Hi Paul... I'm not sure about "Year of Grace"... I can tell you that the four year cycle named after the Evangelists is most definitely a feature of the Ethiopian Calendar though... The actual names are Mattiewos, Marqoss, Luqas and Yohannis...(preceded by the word Zemene, meaning "era of"... That info should probably be reinserted...  As for Year of Grace, I'm a little confused there myself, since it means almost the same as "Amete Mihret" (Year of Mercy) which is currently 1998.  Although there is a different word for "Grace" as opposed to Mercy (Tsegga), so maybe there is something called "Amete Tsegga", but I wouldn't know about that one off hand... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 16:03, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Codex Sinaiticus for your reply. I read some other sources and then modified the article. If you want to better on, go-ahead. Have a good day, Paul Martin 15:42, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

New Year
Why does this article say the new year is August 29th (it says Meskerem, the first month, starts then)? It's September 11th (12th on leap years). The only reason why I'm hesitating to edit the article is because I'm not sure exactly how the leap year is added, but I will change this information for now unless someone provides a good explanation.

Yom 16:25, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

I think they were talking about the old Julian (pre Gregorian) August 29, but I agree it is more confusing that way since noone uses that any more... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 16:34, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

The reason why the Julian calendar date is used for the new year is because the leap year rule is like the Julian calendar leap year rule and so this date is valid perpetually. The September 11 Grogorian date is valid only for two centuries. Karl 8 Jun 2006.

Usage in Eritrea
"The Ethiopian calendar (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ዘመን አቆጣጠር ye'Ītyōṗṗyā zemen āḳoṭaṭer) or Ethiopic calendar is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Upon Eritrea's independence, it officially converted to the Gregorian calendar and the older "Ge'ez Calendar" (as it is called in Eritrea, after the ancient language Ge'ez) is used exclusively by the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church and its adherents (estimated at about 45% of the population), whereas Muslims (also approximately 45%) tend to use the Islamic Calendar."

Yom, this is misleading. First, it is not the principal calendar in Eritrea. Second, you have an incorrect religious make-up of Eritrea. Eritrea is most often cited as 50% Muslim with the other 50% being Christians (mostly Orthodox). Third, it is out-of place to even include the religious make-up of Eritrea in the head of an article about the calendar.

The principal calendar used in Eritrea is the Gregorian calendar. It is the calendar that all Eritreans use in daily life at work and at school, however in dealing with religious matters like Id, or Easter; Orthodox christians will use the Ge'ez Calendar and Muslims will use the Islamic Calendar. This is not like Ethiopia who uses the Orthodox calendar principaly. Mesfin 12:34, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopian New Year
I have read some articles written about Ethiopian Calendar and its corresponding conversion to Greporian calendar. I think ther is an error while converting the starting date of ET new Year Meskerem 1 to Sept. 11 and to Sept. 12 when leap year. I think, for Meskerem 1, the corresponding G. date is Sept. 11 whether it is a leap year or not. There is a trade-off of one day, when the month of pagume is 6 days the corresponding G. year's February has 29 days.

For example the EY 1996 is leap year that is pagume has 6 days and the corresponding G. years are 2003 & 2004. 2004 is a leap year and February has 29 days. (unsigned)


 * Pagume 5 is always September 10, right? Right. In Ethiopian leap years when there is a Pagume 6, this is September 11.  In years when there is no Pagume 6, the next day is still September 11 Gregorian, but Meskerem 1 Ethiopian.  Thus, following the Ethiopian leap day, all the regular correspondences are off by one day from what they would be in the other three years, until you get to the following February, where there is almost always a leap day in Gregorian (1900 and 2100 being exceptions). This is where the trade-off you are describing occurs; since the leap day is added in the Gregorian, it balances out and all the dates for the next 3 1/2 years are then back to the normal correspondences. There is no argument from any serious source saying that the New Year day after a Pagume 6 is not always September 12 for dates between 1900 and 2100. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 18:53, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopian New Year!! continued
I have read the comment from Ato Fekade, however, I don't agree on the argument that Sept. 5 is always pagume 1?? No. When I brought the issue that irrespective of leap year or not Sept. 11 is always correspond with Meskerm 1, it is not without making data analysis on both claders. Therefore, I will sugest for any concerned reader to do some homwork on it. Take the start of EY leap year for example EY 1996, it correspond to sept. 11, 2002 right? remember the end of the previous year is pagume 5 (1995). Tally each 366 days with corresponding G. calendar and see the result is the New year 1997 meskerem starts on Sept. 12?? For start day commparis look the following chart. Non Leap year  Leap Year Meskerem 1                  Sept. 11 Tikemt 1                    Oct.  11 Hidar 1                     Nov.  10 Tahisas 1                   Dec.  10 Tire 1                      Jan.   9 Yekatit 1                   Feb.   8 ........................... Megabit 1              Mar. 10     Mar. 9 Miazia 1               Apr. 9    Apr. 8 Genbot 1               May   9     May. 8 Sene 1                 Jun   8     Jun  7 Hamle 1                July  8     July 7 Nehase 1                Aug. 7     Aug  6 Pagume 1                Sept. 6    Sept. 5 (unsigned)


 * I'm not sure what the confusion is, but I think it might be that the Gregorian Leap Day in February always comes around six months AFTER the Ethiopian Leap Day in September. So the offset is from September to February, not the other way around. Programs such as http://www.funaba.org/en/calendar-conversion.cgi give the correct dates. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:15, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopian New year Continued(2)
I hope Ato Fekade you bear with me. I was thinking that way too, for a long time until I start to develop a software that jointly disply both Calenders. I checked and rechecked my alogarthm for error and tried to tabulet each day for final confirmation and find out the trade-off, Meskerem 1 always correspond to Sept. 11.; EY 1996 is a leap year, therefore the month of pagume has 6 days. The second half of the corresponding G.Year 2004 & February has 29 days. Therefore the G. leap day comes before pagume. Please, give it some thought!!


 * Think about it some more yourself. The Gregorian leap day (Feb. 29) comes around six months AFTER the Ethiopian leap day (Pagume 6 = Sep. 11). AD 2004 was a leap year, and this corresponds to EY 1996-1997. But EY 1996 was not the year that got added a Pagume 6. That was EY 1995, that had a Pagume 6.  So technically, EY 1995 is the Leap Year, not EY 1996. And Ethiopian Leap Day, Pagume 6 1995 (or Sep 11 2003) was around six months BEFORE the Gregorian Leap day, Feb 29, 2004 (or Yekatit 21, 1996.) ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 22:04, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopian New Year Cont.(3)
Thanks Ato Fekade, You pin point my problem. My understanding of a leap year is a year evenly divided by 4 and applied it to ET calendar. Sorry for not reading some of the articles on this page. I will adjust may algorithm!!.

the 7-year gap
It would be helpful if this article explained why there is a 7-year discrepancy between the Ethiopian calendar and the Gregorian. Surely it can't just be due to leap year differences? -- Visviva 02:46, 8 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It is explained in the section entitled "Eras". Ethiopian years follow a calculation of the Annunciation of the Nativity that is 8 years after Anno Domini's calculation of the same. Til Eulenspiegel 03:48, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

How to convert Ethiopian Calendar(or as correctly proposed above, Ge'ez Calendar) into Gregorian and Vice Versa
Recently I came across a web based application at http://ethiopianlanguages.com/ethiopian-calendar/. Yes, it answers most questions mentioned above. You can see the month name and its number in Ge'ez calendar(Ethiopian Calendar) in a list. When you click convert, Ethiopian calendar appears in Amharic as well. Wonderful. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.55.83.13 (talk) 13:29, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

Needs information about how to know which of the four Gospel years match which Western years
There are charts and software enabling me to know what the date is in the Ge'ez calendar. But it would be helpful to know which year of the four year Gospel cycle it is. I would like to know if we are in the year of Matthew, Mark, Luke (leap year), or John. Pete unseth (talk) 14:07, 11 September 2019 (UTC)

Ge'ez not Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar should be changed to "Ge'ez" calendar. I believe it would be more formal, just as the Ge'ez font is not called Ethiopian. As well, this is mainly due to the fact that since Eritrea achieved independence from Ethiopia and the calendar is used by the Eritrean Orthodox church, and Eritrean Orthodox christians. Cluckbang 19:54, 6 May 2007 (UTC)Cluckbang

I don't understand why the title is stating it's an "Ethiopian calendar", when its more appropriately and politically correct to refer to it as "Ge'ez calendar". No Eritrean ever refers to this calendar as "Ethiopian calender". The neutral and proper name should be "Ge'ez calender". Ge'ez predates the nation-state of Ethiopia, more importantly, this calendar is not only celebrated in Ethiopia and it's not a neutral name. Where's the neutrality here?

Eripeople --Preceding undated comment added 08:23, 7 December 2009 (UTC).

2021

 * Does anyone oppose moving this article then from Ethiopian calendar to Ge'ez calendar? Dan Palraz (talk) 19:28, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

Categories of ethiopia calendars
Ethiopian 196.188.224.12 (talk) 04:18, 14 October 2022 (UTC)


 * 1 year 2603:8080:1001:14B1:D87F:22B2:1578:2117 (talk) 22:36, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * 1 year 2603:8080:1001:14B1:D87F:22B2:1578:2117 (talk) 22:36, 15 April 2024 (UTC)