Western Semitic Calendar

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Western Semitic Calendars were composed of a year and a day. The year and a day rule had some significance in European common law up through 1996. In the context of a solar year and a day composed of 13 lunar months; The months were composed of 28 days or 4 weeks of 7 days plus one day. Adding a day to the year considered as a year and the month considered separately as a month gives them a close approximation to a solar year and a lunar cycle.

[edit] Examples

One example might be the Phaistos Disk, with a month represented on one side and a year on the other. Others such calendars are found in similar disks with holes punched around their perimeter. One vestige of the calendar of 13 months and the concept of a year and a day often found in romantic literature or fairy tales is a deck of cards with 13 cards per suit in four suits for a total of 52 cards each representing a seven day week plus a couple of jokers to represent the extra day for the year and the month.

The Ethiopian Coptic Calendar survives in a similar form with 13 months and epagomenal days

[edit] Months

Ge'ez (and Tigrinya, Amharic	Coptic	Gregorian start date	Start date in year after sixth epagomenal day
Mäskäräm	Tut	September 11	September 12
Ṭəqəmt	Babah	October 11	October 12
Ḫədar	Hatur	November 10	November 11
Taḫśaś	Kiyahk	December 10	December 11
Ṭərr	Tubah	January 9	January 10
Yäkatit (Tn. Läkatit)	Amshir	February 8	February 9
Mägabit	Baramhat	March 10	March 10
Miyazya	Baramundah	April 9	April 9
Gənbot	Bashans	May 9	May 9
Säne	Ba'unah	June 8	June 8
Ḥamle	Abib	July 8	July 8
Nähase	Misra	August 7	August 7
Ṗagumen	Nasi	September 6	September 6

Note that these dates are valid only from March 1900 to February 2100.