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Ethiopian Calendar Calculator

Convert between Gregorian and Ethiopian calendar dates. View Ethiopian months and traditional holidays.

Ethiopian Months

1. Meskerem (30 days)
2. Tikimt (30 days)
3. Hidar (30 days)
4. Tahsas (30 days)
5. Tir (30 days)
6. Yekatit (30 days)
7. Megabit (30 days)
8. Miyazya (30 days)
9. Ginbot (30 days)
10. Sene (30 days)
11. Hamle (30 days)
12. Nehase (30 days)
13. Pagume (5-6 days)

July 18, 2026

10 Hamle 2018

Date Details

Ethiopian Year: 2018

Month: Hamle (11/13)

Day: 10

Leap Year: No (Pagume has 5 days)

Ethiopian Holidays

EnkutatashEthiopian New Year (Sept 11)
MeskelFinding of True Cross (Sept 27)
GennaEthiopian Christmas (Jan 7)
TimketEpiphany (Jan 19)
Victory of AdwaMarch 2
Easter (Fasika)Moveable feast

The Ethiopian calendar is approximately 7-8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. It has 12 months of 30 days each, plus a 13th month (Pagume) of 5-6 days. The Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash) falls on September 11.

What Is the Ethiopian Calendar?

The Ethiopian calendar (also called the Ge'ez calendar) is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is a solar calendar derived from the ancient Egyptian Coptic calendar, which itself descends from the pharaonic civil calendar. The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months: twelve months of 30 days each, plus a thirteenth month called Pagume of 5 days (or 6 days in a leap year).

The most striking difference between the Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars is the year count. The Ethiopian calendar is approximately 7 to 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar, depending on the time of year. This is because the two calendars disagree on the date of the Annunciation (the birth of Christ), with the Ethiopian tradition placing this event 7–8 years later than the Western tradition.

The Ethiopian New Year, called Enkutatash, falls on September 11 in the Gregorian calendar (September 12 in Gregorian leap years). This marks the beginning of the month of Meskerem, the first Ethiopian month. For Ethiopians, the new year symbolizes the end of the rainy season and the beginning of spring flowers.

The Ethiopian calendar is used for official government purposes, religious observances, and in daily life throughout Ethiopia. Understanding it is essential for anyone working with Ethiopian documents, planning travel, or working with Ethiopian partners.

Gregorian to Ethiopian Conversion

The conversion uses Julian Day Numbers (JDN) as an intermediate step, since the Julian Day system provides a continuous count of days that is independent of any particular calendar system.

Gregorian to Ethiopian Calendar

JD = gregorianToJulianDay(year, month, day); ethiopianYear ≈ floor((JD − 1724220.5) / 365.25) + 1

Where:

  • JD= Julian Day Number: continuous day count from noon January 1, 4713 BC (Julian calendar)
  • 1724220.5= Ethiopian epoch: Julian Day of August 29, 8 CE (Julian calendar) — the start of the Ethiopian calendar
  • daysSinceEpoch= JD − 1724220.5 (days elapsed since the Ethiopian calendar epoch)
  • ethiopianYear= floor(daysSinceEpoch / 365.25) + 1
  • ethiopianMonth= floor(dayOfYear / 30) + 1 for days 1–360; 13 (Pagume) for days 361+
  • ethiopianDay= (dayOfYear mod 30) or (dayOfYear − 360) for Pagume

The 13 Ethiopian Months

Each of the 12 main months has exactly 30 days. The 13th month, Pagume, has 5 days in ordinary years and 6 days in Ethiopian leap years (which occur when the Ethiopian year + 1 is divisible by 4).

# Ethiopian Month Gregorian Equivalent Days
1MeskeremSep 11 – Oct 1030
2TikimtOct 11 – Nov 930
3HidarNov 10 – Dec 930
4TahsasDec 10 – Jan 830
5TirJan 9 – Feb 730
6YekatitFeb 8 – Mar 930
13PagumeSep 6 – Sep 105 (or 6)

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Select a Gregorian Date: Use the date picker to choose any Gregorian calendar date you wish to convert.
  2. View Ethiopian Date: The calculator instantly shows the equivalent Ethiopian calendar date in the format Day Month Year (e.g., 15 Meskerem 2016).
  3. Check the Month Highlight: The month list on the left highlights the current Ethiopian month, helping you understand where in the Ethiopian year the date falls.
  4. Review Holidays: The holidays panel lists major Ethiopian holidays and their approximate Gregorian equivalents.
  5. Note Pagume: If the date falls in Pagume (the 13th month), the calculator notes this specially, as Pagume has only 5–6 days.

Major Ethiopian Holidays

Ethiopian holidays follow the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church calendar, which is among the oldest Christian traditions in the world. Ethiopia adopted Christianity as its state religion in 330 CE, predating most of Europe.

  • Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year): 1 Meskerem = September 11 (Gregorian). The name means "gift of jewels," referring to the story of the Queen of Sheba returning from Solomon with gifts.
  • Meskel (Finding of the True Cross): 17 Meskerem = September 27. A major religious festival celebrated with bonfires across Ethiopia.
  • Genna (Ethiopian Christmas): 29 Tahsas = January 7 Gregorian. Celebrated 13 days after Western Christmas, it is a religious day featuring traditional sports.
  • Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany): 11 Tir = January 19 Gregorian. One of the most colorful festivals, featuring processions, music, and ritual blessings.

Worked Examples

Convert January 1, 2024 to Ethiopian Calendar

Problem:

What is January 1, 2024 in the Ethiopian calendar?

Solution Steps:

  1. 1Compute Julian Day for January 1, 2024: JD ≈ 2460310.5
  2. 2Ethiopian epoch JD = 1724220.5
  3. 3daysSinceEpoch = 2460310.5 − 1724220.5 = 736090 days
  4. 4ethiopianYear = floor(736090 / 365.25) + 1 = 2015 + 1 = 2016
  5. 5dayOfYear within Ethiopian year: 736090 mod 365.25 ≈ day 113 of Ethiopian year
  6. 6Month: floor(113 / 30) + 1 = 4 = Tahsas; Day: 113 mod 30 = 23

Result:

January 1, 2024 Gregorian = 23 Tahsas 2016 Ethiopian calendar.

Ethiopian New Year Date

Problem:

When does Ethiopian New Year 2017 (Enkutatash) fall in Gregorian?

Solution Steps:

  1. 1Ethiopian New Year is always 1 Meskerem = the first day of the Ethiopian calendar year
  2. 2In non-Gregorian-leap years: 1 Meskerem = September 11 Gregorian
  3. 3In Gregorian leap years (year after a Gregorian leap year): 1 Meskerem = September 12
  4. 42024 is a Gregorian leap year, so Ethiopian New Year 2017 falls on September 12, 2024

Result:

Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash) for Ethiopian year 2017 = September 12, 2024 Gregorian.

Pagume — The 13th Month

Problem:

When does Pagume (the 13th month) occur in 2024?

Solution Steps:

  1. 1Pagume begins after day 360 of the Ethiopian year (the last day of Nehase)
  2. 2Nehase ends around September 5–6 Gregorian
  3. 3Pagume 1 = September 6, 2024 Gregorian
  4. 4In 2024 (an Ethiopian leap year: Ethiopian year 2016 + 1 = 2017 divisible by 4?), Pagume has 6 days, ending September 11

Result:

Pagume 2016 runs from approximately September 6–11, 2024 Gregorian (6 days in this Ethiopian leap year).

Tips & Best Practices

  • ✓Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash) falls on September 11 Gregorian most years, or September 12 the year after a Gregorian leap year.
  • ✓The Ethiopian year is approximately 7 years and 8 months behind the Gregorian year — subtract 8 years for dates before September, or 7 years for dates in September and later.
  • ✓Pagume (the 13th month) only has 5–6 days — be careful with date arithmetic around this period.
  • ✓Ethiopian Orthodox holidays like Genna (Christmas, January 7) and Timket (Epiphany, January 19) are 13 days after their Western equivalents.
  • ✓The Ethiopian calendar aligns with the Julian calendar (before Gregorian reform) for its leap year structure — one leap day every 4 years without exception.
  • ✓When planning meetings with Ethiopian contacts, always confirm which calendar system is being used for date references.

Related Calculators

Coptic Calendar Calculator

Convert dates to the Coptic calendar, a close relative of the Ethiopian calendar

Islamic Calendar Calculator

Convert Gregorian dates to the Islamic Hijri calendar

Hebrew Calendar Calculator

Convert dates to the Hebrew lunisolar calendar

Date Format Converter

Convert dates between different date formats and calendar representations

Frequently Asked Questions

The Ethiopian and Roman Catholic (Gregorian) traditions differ in their calculation of the year of the Incarnation (the birth of Christ). The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's calculation places this event approximately 7–8 years later than the Western calculation established by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, which forms the basis of the BC/AD year numbering used in the Gregorian calendar.
The Ethiopian calendar is closely related to the Coptic calendar — both derive from the ancient Egyptian civil calendar and share the same 13-month structure with 12 months of 30 days plus a short 13th month. The key difference is the year count: the Coptic calendar counts from the 'Era of the Martyrs' (284 CE), while the Ethiopian calendar counts from the Ethiopian calculation of the Incarnation. The month names also differ between the two traditions.
Pagume is the 13th and shortest month of the Ethiopian calendar, appearing after Nehase (the 12th month). It has 5 days in ordinary years and 6 days in Ethiopian leap years. The word Pagume comes from the Greek 'epagomenai,' meaning 'intercalary days' (days added to a calendar to synchronize it with the solar year). Pagume is considered a transitional, spiritually significant period before the new year.
An Ethiopian year is a leap year if (ethiopianYear + 1) is divisible by 4. This mirrors the Julian calendar's simple 4-year leap cycle, without the Gregorian exceptions for century years. As a result, the Ethiopian calendar drifts very slowly relative to the tropical year, but corrections are handled implicitly through its alignment with the Coptic calendar tradition.
Yes — Ethiopia officially uses the Ethiopian calendar for most civic, religious, and cultural purposes, but the Gregorian calendar is used extensively in international business, communications, and official documents that interact with the global community. Most Ethiopians are comfortable with both systems. International travelers to Ethiopia should be aware of which calendar system is being used for dates and appointments.

Sources & References

Last updated: 2026-06-06

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Editorial Note

MyCalcBuddy Editorial Team

This page is maintained as an educational calculator reference.

Source

Formula Source: Standard Mathematical References

by Various

UpdatedLast reviewed: May 2026
CheckedFormula checks are based on standard references and internal QA review.

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