Αιθιοπικό ημερολόγιο

Το Αιθιοπικό ημερολόγιο είναι το κύριο ημερολόγιο που χρησιμοποιείται στην Αιθιοπία και είναι επίσης το λειτουργικό έτος Χριστιανών στην Ερυθραία που ανήκει στην ορθόδοξη εκκλησία της Ερυθραία, και στην ανατολική καθολική εκκλησία της Ερυθραία και στη λουθηρανική (ευαγγελική εκκλησία της Ερυθραίας), όπου είναι συνήθως γνωστό ως ημερολόγιο Ge'ez. Είναι βασισμένο στο παλαιότερο Αλεξανδρινό ή το κοπτικό ημερολόγιο, το οποίο είναι βασισμένο στο ακόμα παλαιότερο αιγυπτιακό ημερολόγιο, αλλά όπως το ιουλιανό ημερολόγιο, προσθέτει μια ημέρα και πηδά κάθε τέσσερα έτη χωρίς εξαίρεση, και αρχίζει το έτος στις 29 Αυγούστου ή στις 30 Αυγούστου στο ιουλιανό ημερολόγιο.

Όπως το κοπτικό ημερολόγιο, tο αιθιοπικός ή Ge'ez ημερολόγιο έχει δώδεκα μήνες 30 ημερών κάθε μια συν πέντε ή έξι ημέρες epagomenal (συνήθως αποκαλούμενες ένας δέκατος τρίτος μήνας). Επιπλέον, οι μήνες του αρχίζουν τις ίδιες ημέρες με εκείνους του κοπτικού ημερολογίου, αλλά έχουν τα διαφορετικά ονόματα, τα οποία είναι σε Ge'ez. Η έκτη ημέρα epagomenal προστίθεται κάθε τέσσερα έτη χωρίς εξαίρεση στις 29 Αυγούστου στο ιουλιανό ημερολόγιο, έξι μήνες πριν από την ιουλιανή ημέρα πηδήματος. Κατά συνέπεια η πρώτη ημέρα του αιθιοπικού/Ge'ez έτους, 1 Mäskäräm, για χρόνια μεταξύ 1901 και 2099 (συμπεριλαμβάνων), είναι συνήθως 11 Σεπτεμβρίου (γρηγοριανού), αλλά αφορά στις 12 Σεπτεμβρίου (γρηγοριανό), στα έτη πριν από το γρηγοριανό έτος .

Τρέχον έτος

Το τρέχον έτος σύμφωνα με το ημερολόγιο αιθιοπικό/Ge'ez είναι το 1999.

New Year's Day

Enkutatash is the word for the Ethiopian new year in the official language of Ethiopia: Amharic, while it is called Ri'se Awde Amet (Head Anniversary) in the Ge'ez liturgical calendar of the Eritrean churches. It occurs on September 11 in the Gregorian calendar, except for leap years when it occurs on September 12. The Ethiopian/Ge'ez calendar year 1998 ˈAmätä Məhrät ("Year of Mercy") began on 11 September, 2005. However, the Ethiopian/Ge'ez years 1996 and 1992 AM began on 12 September 2003 and 1999, respectively.

The new years begin on September 11 or 12 as described above from Gregorian 1900 to 2099, but differently in other Gregorian centuries, because every fourth Ethiopian/Ge'ez year is a leap year without exception.

Eras

To indicate the year, Ethiopians and followers of the Eritrean churches today use the Incarnation Era, which dates from the Annunciation or Incarnation of Jesus on 25 March, 9 (Julian), as calculated by Annianus of Alexandria in c. 400 AD; thus its first civil year began seven months earlier on 29 August, 8 (Julian). Meanwhile, Europeans eventually adopted the calculations made by Dionysius Exiguus in 525 AD instead, which placed the Annunciation exactly eight years earlier than had Annianus. This causes the Ethiopian/Ge'ez year number to be eight years less than the Gregorian year number from January 1 until September 10 or 11, then seven years less for the remainder of the Gregorian year.

In the past, a number of other eras for numbering years were also widely used in Ethiopia and the Axumite Kingdom:

Era of Martyrs

The most important era – once widely used by the Eastern Churches, and still used by the Coptic Church - 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 AD 525, Dionysius Exiguus decided to add 15 Metonic cycles 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 year 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 400 AD, 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 century AD, the era was used by Egyptian and Ethiopian (Axumite) chronologists. The twelfth 532-year-cycle of this era began on 29 August 360 AD, 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/Ge'ez 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.

Months

Ge'ez, Tigrinya with suffixes in parenthesis, and Amharic	Coptic	Gregorian start date	Start date in year after sixth epagomenal day
Mäskäräm	Tut	September 11	September 12
Ṭəqəmt(i)	Babah	October 11	October 12
Ḫədar	Hatur	November 10	November 11
Taḫśaś	Kiyahk	December 10	December 11
Ṭərr(i)	Tubah	January 9	January 10
Yäkatit (Tn. Läkatit)	Amshir	February 8	February 9
Mägabit	Baramhat	March 10	March 10
Miyazya	Baramundah	April 9	April 9
Gənbot	Bashans	May 9	May 9
Säne	Ba'unah	June 8	June 8
Ḥamle	Abib	July 8	July 8
Nähase	Misra	August 7	August 7
Ṗagumen	Nasi	September 6	September 6

Note that these dates are valid only from March 1900 to February 2100.

Sources

• "The Ethiopian Calendar", Appendix IV, C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, The Prester John of the Indies (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961).
• Ginzel, Friedrich Karl, "Handbuch der matematischen und technischen Chronologie", Leipzig, 3 vol., 1906-1914

External links

• Warning: In the following two links, dates in the "Ethiopian calendar" have been converted into a pseudo-Julian calendar by replacing the true Amharic Ethiopian month names by close, but not coincident, Julian names. For example, Mäskäräm is called "September" even though Mäskäräm actually begins on August 29/30 Julian (and September 11th Gregorian, the most common calendar). When they state that the Ethopian year begins on "September 1", they mean it begins on Mäskäräm 1. Similarly, when they state that Christmas occurs on "December 29" in the Ethiopian calendar, they mean it occurs on Tahsas 29.
  • Ethiopian Calendar - Christian, Islamic, Jewish & Public Holidays
  • Ethiopian Religious Festivals
• The Ethiopic Calendar by Aberra Molla
• Ethiopian Calendar Converter
• Ethiopian Perpetual Calendar Software
• Ethiopian Online Calendar