Ethiopian calendar FAQ
A practical guide to Ethiopian dates, 13 months, leap years, holidays, fasting seasons, date conversion, and how EtCal helps on iOS, Android, and the web.
The Ethiopian year is usually seven or eight years behind the Gregorian year. The exact difference changes around Ethiopian New Year in September, so a simple subtraction is not always enough. For the current Ethiopian date, current Ethiopian year, weekday, and matching Gregorian date, open EtCal Today.
The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months. The first twelve months each have 30 days, followed by Pagume, the short thirteenth month. Pagume has five days in a common year and six days in a leap year, which gives the calendar its familiar 13-month structure.
Enkutatash, Ethiopian New Year, is Meskerem 1. It usually falls on September 11 in the Gregorian calendar, or September 12 before a Gregorian leap year. EtCal shows Enkutatash in both calendar systems and includes it in holiday lists, upcoming holidays, and mobile app reminders.
Every fourth Ethiopian year is a leap year. In those years, Pagume has six days instead of five. EtCal uses the Ethiopian leap-year rule consistently in the month view, date converter, holiday calculations, fasting calendar, and calendar export files.
Yes. Use the EtCal date converter to convert Ethiopian dates to Gregorian dates or Gregorian dates to Ethiopian dates. The mobile apps add more workflows, including reminders, events, widgets, countdowns, PDF Export, ICS sharing, and offline access.
Use the EtCal holiday directory to browse national, Orthodox, Muslim, cultural/regional, monthly, and international observances. Major holidays have Holiday Info pages with background and related links. Upcoming holidays can also be exported as all-day calendar files where available.
Yes. The Ethiopian Orthodox fasting calendar shows major fasting seasons for the current Ethiopian year. It includes fixed-date fasts and movable seasons connected to Bahire Hasab, with Gregorian equivalents and Add to Calendar links for planning.
The iOS and Android apps are designed for offline Ethiopian calendar access. EtCal Web is useful for quick online lookups, search, and sharing links. For everyday use, reminders, widgets, Apple Watch, and travel situations, install EtCal for iOS or Android.
Install EtCal for reminders, widgets, events, PDF Export, ICS sharing, and offline access.