← All guides

The Ethiopian Calendar's 13 Months, Explained for Kids

2026-10-14 · Fidel Friends

"Ethiopia has 13 months?" is one of the best questions a child can ask, and the answer is yes! The Ethiopian calendar's 13 months are a wonderful way to talk about culture, seasons and Amharic words all at once. Here's a simple, kid-friendly explanation, with every month name in Amharic.

Why does the Ethiopian calendar have 13 months?

The Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of exactly 30 days, plus a short 13th month at the end of the year called ጳጉሜ (Pagume). Pagume has 5 days, or 6 days in a leap year. Twelve times thirty is 360, and Pagume adds the last 5 or 6 days to make a full year.

That's why you might hear Ethiopia's tourism slogan "13 months of sunshine". It's a playful way of saying Ethiopia has its own calendar, and plenty of sunny days.

A simple way to explain it to a child: "Every big month has 30 days, like a full row of 30 stickers. At the end of the year there's a tiny bonus month with only 5 or 6 days."

The 13 Ethiopian months in Amharic

The Ethiopian year begins in September. The Gregorian dates below are approximate starting dates in a typical year; they can shift by a day around leap years.

Notice that several month names use letters from the "sound twin" families, like ኅ in ኅዳር and ሣ in ታኅሣሥ. These are older spellings that keep the calendar connected to Ge'ez. You'll also see simpler spellings such as ህዳር and ታህሳስ in everyday writing.

New Year in September: Enkutatash

Ethiopian New Year, እንቁጣጣሽ (Enkutatash), falls on 1 Meskerem. That is usually September 11, and September 12 in the year just before a Gregorian leap year (when Pagume has 6 days). It comes at the end of the long rainy season, when yellow አደይ አበባ (adey abeba) flowers bloom across the highlands, so New Year feels fresh and bright.

In many families, children sing, wear new or traditional clothes, give drawings or flowers to relatives, and share a special meal. It's a lovely time to introduce the months, since the calendar is literally starting over.

Why is the Ethiopian year "behind"?

The Ethiopian calendar counts years differently from the Gregorian calendar, so the year number is about 7 to 8 years behind. From Enkutatash in September until the end of December, the gap is 7 years; from January until Enkutatash, it's 8 years. For example, the Ethiopian year 2019 began in September 2026.

Kids often find this hilarious: "In Ethiopia, I'd be younger!" (Not quite: your age is the same everywhere, only the year number changes. That's a fun conversation in itself.)

Other dates kids may hear about

• ገና (Genna), Ethiopian Christmas, is celebrated on January 7, near the end of ታኅሣሥ.
• ጥምቀት (Timket), the celebration of Epiphany, is held in ጥር, around January 19.
• መስቀል (Meskel), the Finding of the True Cross, is celebrated in መስከረም, in late September.

Fun ways to teach the 13 months

• Birthday month: Find which Ethiopian month your child's birthday falls in. Suddenly ሚያዝያ or ጥር is "my month"!
• Paper chain calendar: Make 12 big paper loops and 1 tiny loop for Pagume. Write a month on each, and hang the chain in your child's room.
• Two calendars side by side: Hang a Gregorian calendar next to an Ethiopian one and compare today's date in both.
• Month of the month: Each month, learn its name, say it at breakfast, and find its first letter on the free fidel chart.
• Count the days: Use your new Amharic numbers to count down to Enkutatash or to Pagume.

Keep exploring

Months pair nicely with the Amharic days of the week. Look for Fikir's Months series to sing all thirteen, and browse all Fidel Friends series. And if your child wants to read the month names themselves, start with the letter families.