Ethiopia operates on the Geʽez calendar, which is approximately seven to eight years behind the internationally used Gregorian calendar. This ancient solar calendar, derived from the Coptic calendar, features 13 months, with 12 of 30 days and a short 13th month. The Ethiopian New Year begins in September, meaning while the rest of the world entered 2026, Ethiopia was in its year 2018. This discrepancy stems from differing calculations of Jesus Christ's birth year.