| Ethiopian Calendar |
Article Index for Ethiopian |
Shopping Ethiopian |
Website Links For Ethiopian |
Information AboutEthiopian Calendar |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ETHIOPIAN CALENDAR | |
| ethiopian culture | |
| specific calendars | |
|
Like the Alexandrian and Coptic Calendar s, the Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of 30 days each plus five or six Epagomenal days (usually called a thirteenth month), but with Amharic names. The sixth epagomenal day is added every four years on August 29 in the Julian calendar, six months before the Julian leap day. Thus the first day of the Ethiopian year, 1 Mäskäräm, is usually August 29 (Julian), but is August 30 (Julian) six months before the Julian leap day. NEW YEAR'S DAY For Gregorian years between 1901 and 2099 inclusive, the equivalent Gregorian dates are September 11 and September 12 . Enkutatash , the Ethiopian New Year , occurs on September 11 in the Gregorian Calendar , except during leap years. The Ethiopian calendar year 1998 ''Amätä Mehrät'' began on 11 September , 2005 AD. However, the Ethiopian years 1996 and 1992 ''AM'' began on 12 September 2003 and 1999 AD, respectively. To indicate the year, Ethiopians primarily use the Incarnation Era, which dates the Incarnation of Jesus to 25 March , 9 (Julian) (chosen by Annianus Of Alexandria at the beginning of the Fifth Century ); thus its first civil year began seven months earlier on 29 August , 8 (Julian). This causes the Ethiopian year number to be eight years less than the Gregorian year number from January 1 until September 10 or September 11, then seven years less for the remainder of the Gregorian year. This is known as ''Amätä Mehrät'', "Year of Mercy". ERAS Era of Martyrs The most imporant Era – once widely used by the Eastern Church s – was the Era Of Martyrs , also known as the Diocletian Era, whose first year began on 29 August 284 . Respectively to the western and Julian New Year's Days about three months later, the difference between the Era of Martyrs and the Anni Domini is 285 (= 15x19) years. This is because in 525 , Dionysius Exiguus decided to add 15 Metonic Cycle s to the existing 13 Metonic cycles of the Diocletian Era (15x19 + 13x19 = 532) to obtain an entire 532-year medieval Easter cycle, whose first cycle ended with the year Era of Martyrs 247 (= 13x19) equal to AD DXXXI. It is also because 532 is the product of the Metonic cycle of 19 years and the Solar Cycle of 28 years. Anno Mundi according to Panodoros Around the year A.D. 400, an Alexandrine monk called Panodoros fixed the Alexandrian Era ( Anno Mundi = in the year of the world), the Date Of Creation , on 29 August 5493 BC . After the 6th c. AD, the era was used by Egyptian and Ethiopian chronologists. The twelfth 532-year-cycle of this era began on 29 August 360, and so 4x19 years after the Era of Martyrs. Anno Mundi according to Anianos Bishop Anianos preferred the Annunciation style as New Year's Day, the 25 March ''(see above)''. Thus he shifted the Panodoros era by about six months, to begin on 25 March 5492 BC. LEAP YEAR CYCLE The four year leap-year cycle is associated with the four Evangelists: the first year after an Ethiopian leap year is named in honour of John , followed by the Matthew -year and then the Mark -year. The year with the sixth epagomenal day is traditionally designated as the Luke -year. There are no exceptions to the four year leap-year cycle, unlike the Gregorian Calendar . COMPARATIVE TABLE Note that these dates are valid only from March 1900 to February 2100. SOURCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|