The place where it's still 2016. Here's why

On September 11, Ethiopia will celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another. However, when the East African country celebrates the New Year in a few months, it will technically be 2017, according to their calendar.

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, is seven years and eight months "behind" most of the world. The reasons are related to local traditions dating back centuries.

The Ethiopian people operate according to a unique calendar, where the year of the birth of Jesus Christ is marked seven or eight years later than the Gregorian or "Western" calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. According to experts, the Roman Church adjusted the calculation hers in 500 CE, while the Ethiopian Orthodox Church chose to stick to the ancient dates.

"We are unique. We have our own calendar, our own alphabet and of course our own cultural traditions", say the locals.

Their unique calendar lasts 13 months, with 12 of them lasting 30 days. The last month consists of only five days, or six days during a leap year.

But it's not just the months, days and years that change in Ethiopia. The country also operates on its own time system. While most countries start their day at midnight, Ethiopians use a 12-hour system that runs from dawn to dusk, starting at 1 am.

However, the traditional Ethiopian calendar is not the only special calendar, as a similar example is the ancient Egyptian calendar, where the year 2024 corresponds to the year 6266. Also, Saudi Arabia has traditionally prioritized the Hijri calendar, consisting of 12 months and 354 days. , but recently adopted the use of the Gregorian calendar for official dealings.

But will the country ever change this calendar to match the rest of the world?

According to researchers, Ethiopia is a very conservative Christian country and the locals are not very interested in developments in the west.

Respecting their calendar as a very ancient and fanatically preserved tradition, it would be difficult for the people of Ethiopia to change this unique calendar.

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