On September 11th, Ethiopians will usher in a new year, but according to their unique calendar, it will be 2017
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This difference of nearly eight years might leave you wondering: why the gap?
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Ethiopia adheres to its timekeeping system - a tradition rooted in centuries of history and a strong sense of national identity
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This unique calendar presents interesting challenges in a globally connected world that largely operates on a different timeline
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Ethiopia's temporal system exhibits a notable disparity with the globally adopted Gregorian calendar
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The roots of this discrepancy lie in the mid-sixth century when the Roman Church implemented a calendrical reform
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The Ethiopian Calendar shares close ties with the Coptic calendar used by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
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Both calendars adhere to a solar-lunar system, comprising 13 months
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Twelve of these months have 30 days each, while the final month acts as a sort of timekeeper, with 5 days in a regular year and 6 days during a leap year