The Ancient Egyptians used to celebrate the New Year with a slew of festivals to commemorate the passage of time, to give thanks, and to pray for the Nile’s flow to continue.
The Pharaohs believed that time is pided into past, present, and future. They also believed that the sun and moon are symbols of eternity.
Archaeologist Dr. Hussein Abdel Basir, director of the Antiquities Museum at Bibliotheca Alexandrina said that the Pharaohs counted 365 days, then they pided them up into 12 months; each one is 30 days, and they added an extra five days.
The five days left are gathered under the name of the short month, so the Egyptian year carries 13 months.
The Egyptians also managed to pide the day into 24 hours, the time of the spring and autumn, and the days of the week.
He added that the ancient Egyptians welcome a new year on the first day of the agricultural year, specifically on September 11, to celebrate the completion of the flood season of the Nile, which was the symbol of life, growth, and fertility in ancient Egypt.
The Egyptians thought that the calendar was invented by Thoth, the god of knowledge, the moon, measures, reading, and the alphabet. The first month of the Egyptian year carries the name of Thoth.
The calendar doesn’t carry any mistakes and is the most suitable one for farmers. The Egyptians managed to set this calendar after watching the flood start every time the Sirius star was shining in the sky.
It was also the first solar calendar, while the other nations followed a lunar one. The star shines at the sunset every time the flood reaches Memphis City.
Although Egypt officially doesn’t follow the Egyptian calendar, it is still used in churches and by farmers.
Thus, we find that the ancient Egyptians had created a tight astronomical calendar. They also invented the civil year in order to avoid engaging in the confusion suffered by the Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans at that time to link the lunar calendar to the civil calendar.
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