It is 2024, but Ethiopians are still living in 2016, here is why
Which year is this? It is 2024 for most of us, except if you are living in Ethiopia, because that country is still in 2016. No, this doesn't mean Ethiopia was time-frozen in 2016 and nothing has happened in the country since. It just means that the African nation is behind the rest of the world by eight years because they follow a different calendar.
13 months in?Ethiopian calendar
Unlike the Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and Julian calendars, which all have 12 months in a year, the Ethiopian calendar has 13.
The Ethiopian calendar, also known as the Ge'ez calendar, has 12 months in a year and a 13th month called Pagume. Unlike the other 12 months, which have 30 days each, Pagume has five or six days depending on the year. Pagume, which means 'forgotten days' in Greek, accounts for days forgotten when a year is calculated.
When was Jesus born
Another major difference between the most widely used Gregorian calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, and the one in Ethiopia is the birth year of Jesus Christ, which is recognized as seven or eight years later.
Also read: Archaeologist Claims To Have Found Jesus Christ's Childhood Home
New Year on September 11
Thus, according to the Ge'ez calendar, it is 2016 in Ethiopia. The difference in dates doesn't even end there. While the rest of the world marks New Year on January 1, according to the Ge'ez calendar, the first day of the year falls on September 11 or 12 (in leap years) on the corresponding Gregorian calendar.
Why Ethiopian calendar is different?
EthiopiaĄ¯s calendar differs from both the Coptic and Julian calendars; the difference between the Coptic and Ethiopian calendars is 276 years. In spite of this, Ethiopia's calendar is closely associated with the rules and the different calculations influenced by the Coptic Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
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