The Coptic Calendar

Cop­tic Calendar

All his­to­ri­ans have agreed that the Egyp­tians were the first to cal­cu­late time. They divided the year into 12 months, accord­ing in their knowl­edge of the stars. They later dis­cov­ered the solar year, and became depen­dent upon it. Each of the 12 months was 30 days long and they added five more days, which they called the small month. There­fore, their year became 365 days long. The final stage of rec­ti­fy­ing the cal­en­dar, in 238 BC was to add a sixth day to the small month every four years. The begin­ning of their year was on the first day of the month of Thout, which is the first month of the Cop­tic year.

The Egyp­tians named their months after their gods, and chose their names accord­ing to the sea­son of the cli­matic changes for agri­cul­ture. They divided the year into 3 main seasons:

1. The sea­son of the flood of the Nile (Thout to Koiahk)
2. The sea­son of veg­e­ta­tion (Tobi to Paremoude)
3. The sea­son of reap­ing and har­vest­ing (Pachons to Mesori) The small month was a chance for feasts and festivals.

The Cop­tic months are, in order:

Thoout

• Named after the god Tegot, Tut or Tuhout, who is the god of wis­dom, sci­ence, art inven­tions and divine mys­ter­ies for the Egyptians.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Sep­tem­ber 11 to Octo­ber 10.

Paope

• Named after Yee-​pee or Ha-​pee, the god of the Nile or of Thebes, who is also the god of veg­e­ta­tion, because in this month the face of the earth becomes green with vegetation.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Octo­ber 11 to Novem­ber 9.

Hathor

• Named after Hator or Hatho, the god­dess of love and beauty, because dur­ing this month the lands become lush and green.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Novem­ber 10 to Decem­ber 9.

Koiahk

• Named after Ka-​Ha-​Ka, the god of good, who is the sacred bull Apis.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Decem­ber 10 to Jan­u­ary 8.

Tobe

• Named after the god Amso or Khem, who is a form of the God Amoun-​ru, the god of Thebes in Upper Egypt; he is the god of the growth of nature because much rain falls dur­ing this month.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Jan­u­ary 9 to Feb­ru­ary 7.

Meshir

• Par­tic­u­lar to the genius of wind, because the storms and wind occur much dur­ing this month. It is the month in which the sum­mer heat begins.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Feb­ru­ary 8 to March 9.

Paremhotep

• Named after the god Mont, which is the god of war. Dur­ing this month the tem­per­a­ture is high and thus the Egyp­tians called it the month of the sun.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: March 10 to April 8.

Par­moute

• Named after Renno, the god of severe wind or death. Dur­ing this month the sea­son of veg­e­ta­tion ends and the earth becomes dry.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: April 9 to May 8.

Pashons

• Named after Khonso, the god of the moon, on of the The­bic trin­ity and the son of Amoun-​Ru and Mout.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: May 9 to June 7.

Paone

• Named after Khenti, on the names of Horus or the sun. It means “the god of metals”.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: June 8 to July 7.

Epep

• Named after Api-​fee or Abib, who is the big ser­pent which Horus (the sun), the son of Osiris, killed to revenge for his father.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: July 8 to August 6.

Mesore

• Par­tic­u­lar to the birth of the sun or what is known as the “sum­mer shift”.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: August 7 to Sep­tem­ber 5.

Lit­tle Month

• It has 5 days in three suc­ces­sive years and 6 days in the leap year.
• Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lent: Sep­tem­ber 6 – 10.

NOTE: The above Gre­go­rian Cal­en­dar equiv­a­lents may change slightly in a leap year.