Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which is 7 years and 8 months behind the Gregorian. Ethiopian New Year's Day falls on September 11. October 1994 in the Gregorian calendar is 1987 according to the Ethiopian calendar. The Ethiopian calendar consists of the following 13 months:
| Meskrem (New Year) | 11 Sep - 10 Oct |
| Tikemt | 11 Oct - 9 Nov |
| Hidar | 10 Nov - 9 Dec |
| Tahsas | 10 Dec - 8 Jan |
| Tir | 9 Jan - 7 Feb |
| Yekatit | 8 Feb - 9 Mar |
| Megabit | 10 Mar - 8 Apr |
| Miyazya | 9 Apr - 8 May |
| Ginbot | 9 May - 7 Jun |
| Sene | 8 Jun - 7 Jul |
| Hamle | 8 Jul - 6 Aug |
| Nahasa | 7 Aug - 5 Sep |
| Pagume | 6 Aug - 10 Sep |
The following dates for 1997 give a guideline of when to expect public holidays during the forthcoming year:
| 1 January | International New Year's Day |
| 7 January | Ethiopian Christmas |
| 19 January | Timket (Epiphany) |
| 2 March | Victory of Adwa Commemoration Day |
| 13 March* | Id-Al Fater (Ramadan) |
| 6 April | Ethiopian Patriots Victory Day |
| 29 April | Ethiopian Good Friday |
| 1 May | International Labour Day |
| 1 May | Ethiopian Easter Day |
| 20 May* | Id-El Adah (Arefa) |
| 28 May | Overthrow of the Derge Regime Day |
| 19 August | Mawlid (Birthday of Prophet Mohammed) |
| 11 September | Ethiopian New Year's Day |
| 27 September | Maskal (Finding of the True Cross) |
| 25 December | International Christmas Day |
* Dependent on the position of the moon