Some
other calendars
The Ethiopian
calendar is based on the Coptic calendar, although it differs with regard
to the saint's days and the time of observing them.
The Coptic,
or Egyptian, calendar is 7/8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. This
discrepancy results from differences between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
and the Roman Catholic Church as to the date of the creation of the world.
The Ethiopian
calendar is based on the Egyptian. An Egyptian year has 13 months. The
first 12 months have 30 days. The last month, Paguemain, is an intercalary
month, which has 6 days on leap year and 5 on others.
The year
starts on 11 September in the Gregorian Calendar or on the 12th in (Gregorian)
Leap Years. The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the Gregorian
so that the extra month always has 6 days in a Gregorian Leap Year. The
names of the months and their starting dates are as follows:
|
| Egyptian |
Ethiopian
|
Start
Date
(regular) |
Start
Date
(leap year) |
| Thuout |
Meskerem
|
11
Sept |
12
Sept |
| Paopi |
Tikemet |
11 Oct |
12 Oct |
| Athor |
Hidar |
10
Nov |
11
Nov |
| Khoiak |
Tahesas |
10 Dec |
11 Dec |
| Tobi |
Tir |
9
Jan |
10
Jan |
| Mekhir |
Yekatit |
8 Feb |
9 Feb |
| Fameno
or Baramhat |
Megabit |
10
Mar |
- |
| Farmou or
Baramouda |
Miyaza |
9 Apr |
- |
| Pakhon |
Ginbot |
9
May |
- |
| Paony |
Sene |
8 Jun |
- |
| Epep |
Hamle |
8
Jul |
- |
| Mesori |
Nehase |
7 Aug |
- |
| Nasie |
Pagume |
6
Sep |
- |
|
The Coptic
New Year is a holiday in Ethiopia. Christmas falls on the 7th of January
as in the Orthodox "old" calendar. Likewise, Epiphany is on the 19th of
January. Easter would appear to be calculated according to the Orthodox
calendar also. Christmas and Epiphany also do not appear to move by one
day during Leap Years as they would if they were being set by the above
calendar. Thus, it would seem that Christian feasts are set according
to the Orthodox calendar rather than according to the Coptic. An Egyptian
Coptic source simply describes the date of Easter as being "the second
Sunday after the first full moon in Spring."
These
are the major public holidays:
|
Date
(in Western Calendar) |
Ethiopian
public holiday |
| January
7 |
Ethiopian
Christmas (Genna) |
| January
19 |
Ethiopian
Epiphany (Timkat) |
| March
2 |
Victory
of Adwa Day |
| March
13 |
Id
Al Fitir (End of Ramadan) |
| April
6 |
Patriots
Victory Day |
| April
17 |
Id
Al Adha (Arafa) |
| April
25 |
Ethiopian
Good Friday |
| April
27 |
Ethiopian
Easter (Fasika) |
| May
28 |
Downfall
of the Dergue (Since 1991) |
| July
17 |
Birth
of Prophet Mohammed (Moulid) |
| Sepember
11 |
Ethiopian
New Year (Enqutatash) |
| September
27 |
Feast
of the True Cross (Meskal) |
|
Balinese
The Balinese use two
calendar systems, the Hindu Çaka and their own Pawukon. The Pawukon is
intricate. It is based on ten concurrent weeks, which have one to ten
days (although the one-day week is really a copy of the two-day week with
only one day named). To complicate matters, only the three-day, five-day
and seven-day weeks run regularly: the others are derived in various ways.
The whole system repeats every 210 days: these 210 days are divided into
thirty named cycles of the seven-day week. There are various other cycles
and holy days defined on these principles.
Baha'i
The Baha'i religion
was founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Mirza Hoseyn 'Ali Nuri,
who is known as Baha' Ullah (Arabic: "Glory of God"). The cornerstone
of Baha'i belief is the conviction that Baha' Ullah and his forerunner,
who was known as the Bab, were manifestations of God, who in his essence
is unknowable. The principal Baha'i tenets are the essential unity of
all religions and the unity of humanity. Baha'is believe that all the
founders of the world's great religions have been manifestations of God
and agents of a progressive divine plan for the education of the human
race. Despite their apparent differences, the world's great religions,
according to the Baha'is, teach an identical truth. Baha' Ullah's peculiar
function was to overcome the disunity of religions and establish a universal
faith. Baha'is believe in the oneness of humanity and devote themselves
to the abolition of racial, class, and religious prejudices. The great
bulk of Baha'i teachings is concerned with social ethics; the faith has
no priesthood and does not observe ritual forms in its worship.
The Year
The year is based
on the solar year of 365 days, five hours and some fifty minutes. Each
year is divided into nineteen months of nineteen days each with four Intercalary
Days (five in a leap year), called Ayyám-i-Há which Bahá'u'lláh specified
should precede the nineteenth month. The Bahá'í New Year's Day (Naw Rúz)
falls on the Spring Equinox. This usually occurs on 21 March but if the
Equinox falls after sunset on 21 March, Naw Rúz is to be celebrated on
22 March because the Bahá'í day begins at sunset.
The Months
The names of the months
in the Bahá'í (Badí) calendar were given by the Báb, who drew them from
the nineteen names of God invoked in a prayer said during the month of
fasting in Islam. At the beginning of each month, the Bahá'ís hold their
local community's regular worship gathering. Called a "Feast", it is more
a spiritual dinner than a physical one. The months are:
|
| Order |
Name |
Meaning |
Gregorian
Dates |
| 1 |
Bahá |
Splendor |
21
March - 8 April |
| 2 |
Jalál |
Glory |
9
April - 27 April |
| 3 |
Jamál |
Beauty |
28
April - 16 May |
| 4 |
'Azamat |
Grandeur |
17
May - 4 June |
| 5 |
Núr |
Light |
5
June - 23 June |
| 6 |
Rahmat |
Mercy |
24
June - 12 July |
| 7 |
Kalimát |
Words |
13
July - 31 July |
| 8 |
Kamál |
Perfection |
1
August - 19 August |
| 9 |
Asmá' |
Names |
20
August - 7 September |
| 10 |
'Izzat |
Might |
8
September - 26 September |
| 11 |
Mashíyyat |
Will |
27
September - 15 October |
| 12 |
'Ilm |
Knowledge |
16
October - 3 November |
| 13 |
Qudrat |
Power |
4
November - 22 November |
| 14 |
Qawl |
Speech |
23
November - 11 December |
| 15 |
Masá'il |
Questions |
12
December - 30 December |
| 16 |
Sharaf |
Honor |
31
December - 18 February |
| 17 |
Sultán |
Sovereignty |
19
Janurary - 6 February |
| 18 |
Mulk |
Dominion |
7
February - 25 February |
| 19 |
'Alá |
Loftiness |
2
March - 20 March |
|
The days of the
week:
|
| Order |
Name |
Meaning |
Gregorian
Equivalent |
| 1 |
Jalál |
Glory |
Saturday |
| 2 |
Jamál |
Beauty |
Sunday |
| 3 |
Kamál |
Perfection |
Monday |
| 4 |
Fidál |
Grace |
Tuesday |
| 5 |
'Idál |
Justice |
Wednesday |
| 6 |
Istijlál |
Majesty |
Thursday |
| 7 |
Istiqlál |
Independence |
Friday |
|
The Bahá'í day of
rest is Isiqlál (Friday) and the Bahá'í day begins and ends at sunset.
Each of the days of
the month is also given the name of one of the attributes of God. the
names are the same as those of the nineteen months; thus Naw-Rúz, the
first day of the first month, would be considered the 'day of Bahá of
the month Bahá'. If it fell on a Saturday, the first day of the Bahá'í
week, it would also be the 'day of Jalál'
The Cycles (Váhid)
In His Writings, revealed
in Arabic, the Báb divided the years following the date of His Revelation
into cycles of nineteen years each. Each cycle of nineteen years is called
a Váhid; nineteen cycles constitute a period called Kull-i-Shay. The names
of the years in each cycle are:
|
| Order |
Name |
Meaning |
|
Order |
Name |
Meaning |
| 1 |
Alif |
The
Letter "A" |
|
11 |
Bahháj |
Delightful |
| 2 |
Bá |
The
letter "B" |
|
12 |
Javáb |
Answer |
| 3 |
Ab |
Father |
|
13 |
Ahad |
Single |
| 4 |
Dál |
The
letter "D" |
|
14 |
Vahháb |
Bountiful |
| 5 |
Báb |
Gate |
|
15 |
Vidád |
Affection |
| 6 |
Váv |
The
letter "V" |
|
16 |
Badí |
Beginning |
| 7 |
Abad |
Eternity |
|
17 |
Bahí |
Luminous |
| 8 |
Jád |
Generosity |
|
18 |
Abhá |
Most
Luminous |
| 9 |
Bahá |
Splendour |
|
19 |
Váhid |
Unity |
| 10 |
Hubb |
Love |
|
|
|
|
|
Ayyám-i-Há
Literally, Days of
Há (i.e. the letter Há, which in the abjad system has the numerical value
of 5). Intercalary Days. The four days (five in a leap year) before the
last month of the Bahá'í year, 'Alá', which is the month of fasting. Bahá'u'lláh
designated the Intercalary days as Ayyám-i-Há in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
and specified when they should be observed; the Báb left this undefined.
The Ayyám-i-Há are devoted to spiritual preparation for the fast, hospitality,
feasting, charity and gift giving.
|