Fireworks explode around the London Eye during New Year's celebrations
after midnight on January 1, 2020. Some countries will wait a few more
days or even months before they can celebrate their New Year. PHOTO |
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS | AFP
The tiny Pacific Island nations of Samoa and Kiribati were the
first places in the world to step into 2020 as millions of people across
the world ushered in the New Year with fireworks and celebrations.
Yet, it is not a new year for everyone.
In Ethiopia and China, citizens will have to wait for more days or even months before they can see another year.
The
two countries have own calendars unlike the rest of the world which
uses the widely followed Gregorian or the Christian calendar.
The Chinese will start their New Year in January 25, 2020 and end on February 11, 2021, according to the Telegraph.
Ethiopia
whose calendar is seven to eight years behind the rest of the world
celebrates their New Year on September 11 of the Gregorian calendar or
September 12 on leap years of the Gregorian calendar.
Also known as the Christian calendar, the
Gregorian calendar is a calendar currently used by many people across
the world. The calendar has 12 months a year divided into 7 days a week
and 365 days a year or 366 days during leap years.
Meanwhile,
the Ethiopian calendar has 13 months in a year, 12 of which have 30
days while the 13th month has five days, and six days in a leap year.
The
first calendars date back to the Bronze Age around what today is the
Middle East. These ancient calendars were generally based on the phases
of the moon and the solar year. Since then, various cultures have
developed own calendars.
As a result,
there remains a number of calendars across the world today; many of
them religious based just like the Ethiopian calendar which belongs to
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The
Gregorian calendar for instance has Christian origins, even though it
has been widely adopted by most countries as the default international
standard.
The calendar is the broadly
accepted “general use” calendar according to which there are 365 days a
year, divided into 12 months of fixed and unchanging lengths except
during leap years.
The Gregorian calendar's predecessor, the Julian calendar, was replaced because it was astronomically inaccurate.
The
calendar was officially introduced in 1582 and named after Pope Gregory
XIII, alt-hough it is an adaptation of a calendar designed by Luigi
Lilio (also known as Aloysius Lilius), an Italian doctor, astronomer,
and philosopher.
The introduction of
the calendar was initially met by heavy protests across Europe and other
parts of the world before gaining popularity and wide use for its
accuracy and convenience in the international trade.
But
while many countries and non-Christian communities have accepted the
Gregori-an calendar as their international standard for representation
of dates and times, they still retain their own calendars for religious
purposes.
Other calendars include;
1. The Hebrew calendar
Also
known as the Jewish calendar, this was originally created before the
year 10 AD. It first utilized lunar months and calendar years, adding an
extra month every 3 to 4 years in order to make up for the difference
between the two.
Over time,
mathematical calculations replaced that system. Today, it is used to
deter-mine the dates for Jewish religious holidays, to select
appropriate religious readings for the day, and to conduct ceremonial
events
2. The Hijri calendar or the Islamic calendar
This
calendar is based on lunar phases (movement of the moon). It uses a
system of 12 months and either 354 or 355 days every year-during leap
years.
The first Islamic year was 622
AD when Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medi-na. This system means
that the current Islamic year is 1441, corresponding to 2020 on the
Gregorian calendar.
The calendar is used to identify Islamic holidays and festivals.
3. The Buddhist calendar
It is widely used in Southeast Asia and is based on an older Hindu calendar.
Although it is not used as an official calendar, the Buddhist calendar is used to mark important festivals.
4. The Chinese calendar
It
is based on a lunisolar system. According to this system, each month
begins on the day when the moon is in the "new moon" phase.
The
beginning of a new year is also marked by the position of the moon and
occurs when the moon is midway between the winter solstice and spring
equinox.
Whereas China officially uses the Gregorian calendar it uses the Chinese calendar to celebrate holidays.
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