Kalender

Islamic calendar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arabic calendar” redirects here. For the Gregorian calendar in Arabic, see Arabic names of calendar months.
The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar (Arabic: التقويم الهجري‎; at-taqwīm al-hijrī; Persian: تقویم هجری قمری ‎ taqvim-e hejri-ye qamari; Kurdish: Salnameya Hicrî; Turkish: Hicri Takvim; Urdu: اسلامی تقویم Islami taqwīm; Indonesian: Kalender Hijriah; Malay: Takwim Hijrah) is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries (concurrently with the Gregorian calendar), and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days and festivals. The first year was the year during which the emigration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra, occurred. Each numbered year is designated either H for Hijra or AH for the Latin anno Hegirae (in the year of the Hijra).[1] A limited number of years before Hijra (BH) are used to date events related to Islam, such as the birth of Muhammad in 53 BH.[2] The current Islamic year is 1432 AH, from approximately 7 December 2010 (evening) to 26 November 2011 (evening).

Being a purely lunar calendar, it is not synchronized with the seasons. With an annual drift of 11 or 12 days, the seasonal relation repeats about every 33 Islamic years.

 

The Islamic months are named as follows:[3]

  1. Muḥarram — المحرّم — means “forbidden” in Arabic, so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month. Muharram is the second most sacred Muslim month, and includes the Day of Ashura.
  2. Ṣafar — صفر — means “void” in Arabic, supposedly named because pagan Arabs looted during this month and left the houses empty.
  3. Rabīʿ I (Rabīʿ al-Awwal) — ربيع الأوّل — means “the first Spring” in Arabic.
  4. Rabīʿ II (Rabīʿ ath-Thānī or Rabīʿ al-Ākhir) — ربيع الآخر , ربيع الثاني — means “the second (or last) Spring” in Arabic.
  5. Jumādā I (Jumādā al-Ūlā) — جمادى الأولى — means “the first month of parched land” in Arabic.
  6. Jumādā II (Jumādā ath-Thāniya or Jumādā al-Ākhira) — جمادى الآخرة , جمادى الثانية — means “the second (or last) month of parched land” in Arabic.
  7. Rajab — رجب — means “respect” or “honor” in Arabic. Rajab is another of the sacred months in which fighting was traditionally forbidden.
  8. Shaʿbān — شعبان — means “scattered” in Arabic, marking the time of year when Arab tribes dispersed to find water.
  9. Ramaḍān — رمضان — means “scorched” in Arabic. Ramadan is the most venerated month of the Hijri calendar, during which Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset.
  10. Shawwāl — شوّال — means “raised” in Arabic, as she-camels begin to raise their tails during this time of year, after giving birth.
  11. Dhū al-Qaʿda — ذو القعدة — means “the one of truce” in Arabic. Dhu al-Qa’da was another month during which war was banned.
  12. Dhū al-Ḥijja — ذو الحجّة — means “the one of pilgrimage” in Arabic, referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj.

Coptic calendar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and still used in Egypt. This calendar is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar. To avoid the calendar creep of the latter, a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar was introduced at the time of Ptolemy III (Decree of Canopus, in 238 BC) which consisted of the intercalation of a sixth epagomenal day every fourth year. However, this reform was opposed by the Egyptian priests, and the idea was not adopted until 25 BC, when the Roman Emperor Augustus formally reformed the calendar of Egypt, keeping it forever synchronized with the newly introduced Julian calendar. To distinguish it from the Ancient Egyptian calendar, which remained in use by some astronomers until medieval times, this reformed calendar is known as the Coptic calendar. Its years and months coincide with those of the Ethiopian calendar but have different numbers and names.

Coptic months