Calendar

Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, instead of the Gregorian calendar used in most other parts of the world. The year is divided in to 13 months, which are:

 

Julian Month      Gregorian Equivalent Days
Meskerem 11th September – 10th October (begins 12th September, during leap years)
Tikmit 11th October – 9th November
Hidar 10th November – 9th December
Tahsas 10th December -8th January
Tir 9th January – 7th February
Yekatit 8th February – 9th March
Meggabit 10th March – 8th April
Miyazya 9th April – 8th May
Ginbot 9th May – 7th June
Sene 8th June – 7th July
Hamle 8th July -6th August
Nehasa 7th August -5th September
Pagume 6th September – 10th September (ends 11th September, during leap years)

Time

Ethiopia is three hours ahead of Greenwich mean time. Time remains constant throughout the year. The Ethiopian day is calculated in a manner similar to that in many equatorial countries, where day and night are always the same length: counting starts at Western 6.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. Western 7.00 a.m. is therefore one o’clock, noon is six, 6.00 p.m. is twelve o’clock, and so on. Relatively close the equator; there is an almost constant twelve hours of daylight. In Addis Ababa, the sunrise and sunset start at around 06.30 and 18.45 respectively.