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Solar Hijri calendar facts for kids

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Ordibehesht 1383 calendar
A Solar Hijri calendar from the year 1383. It shows the second month, Ordibehesht, which is like April–May in the Gregorian calendar. The month's name comes from an ancient word for truth and order.
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The Solar Hijri calendar is the official calendar used in Iran. It's a solar calendar, which means it's based on how the Earth travels around the Sun. Each year starts on the first day of spring, called the March equinox, and has either 365 or 366 days. You might also hear it called the Shamsi calendar or Persian calendar. It's often shortened to SH.

The very first day of this calendar was March 19, 622 CE. This year is important because it's when Mohammed is believed to have traveled from Mecca to Medina. This journey is known as the Hijrah, which is why it's called a "Hijri calendar."

Because this calendar uses real observations of the Sun to find the exact start of spring, it's very accurate. It doesn't usually make mistakes in matching the spring equinox each year. The Solar Hijri calendar uses solar years (based on the Sun), while the lunar Hijri calendar (used by many Muslims) uses lunar months (based on the Moon). Both calendars start counting from the year of the Hijrah, but their year numbers are different because solar years are a bit longer than lunar years.

The Solar Hijri calendar has twelve months, and each one is connected to a zodiac sign. In Iran, before 1925, and in Afghanistan before 2023, people used the names of the zodiac signs for the months. Now, the month names are similar to those in the Zoroastrian calendar. The first six months have 31 days. The next five months have 30 days. The last month has 29 days, but it gets an extra day (30 days) in leap years.

The ancient Iranian New Year's Day is called Nowruz. It always happens on the March equinox. Many communities from the Balkans to Central Asia celebrate Nowruz. Today, the Solar Hijri calendar is officially used only in Iran.

How the Calendar Works

Starting Point

The calendar's starting point, or epoch, is the year 622 CE. This is the same year as the Hijrah, which is also the start of the Lunar Hijri calendar. However, because the Solar Hijri calendar counts solar years (which are longer) and the Lunar Hijri calendar counts lunar years (which are shorter), their year numbers don't match up. For example, in 2025, they are about 43 years apart.

Days in Each Month

The first six months, from Farvardin to Shahrivar, each have 31 days. The next five months, from Mehr to Bahman, have 30 days. The last month, Esfand, has 29 days in a normal year, but 30 days in a leap year. This system is a simpler version of an older calendar called the Jalali calendar.

Leap Years

The Iranian Solar calendar adds an extra day to the last month (Esfand) in certain years to keep the calendar aligned with the Earth's orbit. This extra day makes it a leap year. This calendar is very accurate because it tracks the actual spring equinox.

New Year's Day

The Iranian Solar calendar year begins exactly at the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This moment is when the March equinox happens. The New Year's Day is called Nowruz. It's a huge celebration in Iran, Afghanistan, and other regions influenced by Persian culture. The festivities last for 13 days, ending with a day called siz-dah bedar, which means "outdoor 13th," or formally, Nature Day.

Months of the Year

Order Days Persian (Iran) Dari (Afghanistan) Tajik Kurdish (Iran) Pashto Azerbaijani Gregorian range Zodiac sign
Native script Romanized Native script Romanized Native script Romanized Sorani script Kurmanji script Native script Romanized Arabic script Latin script
01 31 فروردین Farvardin حمل Hamal Фарвардин / Ҳамал Farvardin / Hamal خاکەلێوە Xakelêwe وری Wray آغلار-گۆلر Ağlar-gülər March – April ♈️Aries
02 31 اردیبهشت Ordibehesht ثور Sawr Урдибиҳишт / Савр Urdibihisht / Savr گوڵان Gulan (Banemer) غويی Ǧwayáy گۆلن Gülən April – May ♉️ Taurus
03 31 خرداد Khordad جوزا Jawzā Хурдод / Ҷавзо Khurdod / Javzo جۆزەردان Cozerdan غبرګولی Ǧbargoláy قؽزاران Qızaran May – June ♊️ Gemini
04 31 تیر Tir سرطان Saraṭān Тир / Саратон Tir / Saraton پووشپەڕ Pûşper چنګاښ Čungā́x̌ قوْرا بیشیرن Qora bişirən June – July ♋️ Cancer
05 31 مرداد / امرداد Mordad / Amordad اسد Asad Мурдод / Асад Murdod / Asad گەلاوێژ Gelawêj زمری Zmaráy قۇیرۇق دوْغان Quyruq doğan July – August ♌️ Leo
06 31 شهریور Shahrivar سنبله Sonbola Шаҳривар / Сунбула Shahrivar / Sunbula خەرمانان Xermanan وږی Wáǵay زۇمار Zumar August – September ♍️ Virgo
07 30 مهر Mehr میزان Mizān Меҳр / Мизон Mehr / Mizon ڕەزبەر Rezber تله Tә́la خزل Xəzəl September – October ♎️ Libra
08 30 آبان Aban عقرب ʿAqrab Обон / Ақраб Obon / Aqrab گەڵاڕێزان Xezelwer (Gelarêzan) لړم Laṛám قؽروْو Qırov October – November ♏️ Scorpio
09 30 آذر Azar قوس Qaws Озар / Қавс Ozar / Qavs سەرماوەز Sermawez ليندۍ Lindә́i آذر Azər November – December ♐️ Sagittarius
10 30 دی Dey جدی Jadi Дай / Ҷадӣ Day / Jadī بەفرانبار Befranbar مرغومی Marǧúmay چیلله Çillə December – January ♑️ Capricorn
11 30 بهمن Bahman دلو Dalvæ Баҳман / Далв Bahman / Dalv ڕێبەندان Rêbendan سلواغه Salwāǧá دوْندۇران Donduran January – February ♒️ Aquarius
12 29/30 اسفند / اسپند Esfand / Espand حوت Hūt Исфанд / Ҳут Isfand / Hut ڕەشەمە Reşeme كب Kab بایرام Bayram February – March ♓️ Pisces

The Dari (Afghan Persian) month names are the signs of the Zodiac. These names were used in Iran in the early 1900s when the solar calendar was first adopted.

Days of the Week

In the Iranian calendar, each week starts on Saturday and ends on Friday. The days are called shanbeh, yekshanbeh, doshanbeh, seshanbeh, chahārshanbeh, panjshanbeh, and jom'eh. The words yek, do, se, chahār, and panj are the Persian words for numbers one to five. Jom'eh (Friday) comes from Arabic. In countries like Iran and Afghanistan, Friday is the weekly holiday.

Where the Calendar is Used

As of 2025, Iran is the only country that officially uses the Solar Hijri calendar.

Iran

Landline installation contract for private buildings, Tehran - 14 April 1910 (Persian)
A contract from Tehran, Iran, dated April 14, 1910. It uses the Lunar Hijri calendar.

In 1911, the Iranian parliament made a calendar official that used the names of zodiac signs for months. This calendar was used until 1925. The current Iranian calendar was officially adopted on March 31, 1925. The law said that the first day of the year must be the first day of spring. It also set the number of days for each month and brought back the old Persian month names. The calendar's starting point was officially set to the Hijrah, though it was already in use.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan officially started using the Jalali calendar in 1922, but they used different month names, which were Arabic names of the zodiac signs. For example, the Saur Revolution in 1978 happened in the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar. This calendar was the official calendar for the Afghan government for a long time.

However, the Taliban changed the official calendar to the lunar Hijri calendar during their rule. This happened from 1996 to 2001, and again starting in July 2022. When they made this change, the year number jumped forward.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan does not use the Solar Hijri calendar, even though it's a Persian-speaking country. They do celebrate Nowruz, but their official New Year's Day is January 1st, like in the Gregorian calendar. The capital city of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, gets its name from the Solar Hijri calendar; it means "Monday" in Persian.

Solar Hijri and Gregorian Calendars

The Solar Hijri year usually starts around March 21st in the Gregorian calendar and ends around March 20th of the next year. To figure out the Gregorian year from a Solar Hijri year, you can add 621 or 622 years. It depends on whether the Solar Hijri year has already started or not.

How Solar Hijri and Gregorian Calendars Match Up (Solar Hijri leap years are marked*)
33-year
cycle
Solar Hijri year Gregorian year Solar Hijri year Gregorian year
1 1354* 21 March 1975 – 20 March 1976 1387* 20 March 2008 – 20 March 2009
2 1355 21 March 1976 – 20 March 1977 1388 21 March 2009 – 20 March 2010
3 1356 21 March 1977 – 20 March 1978 1389 21 March 2010 – 20 March 2011
4 1357 21 March 1978 – 20 March 1979 1390 21 March 2011 – 19 March 2012
5 1358* 21 March 1979 – 20 March 1980 1391* 20 March 2012 – 20 March 2013
6 1359 21 March 1980 – 20 March 1981 1392 21 March 2013 – 20 March 2014
7 1360 21 March 1981 – 20 March 1982 1393 21 March 2014 – 20 March 2015
8 1361 21 March 1982 – 20 March 1983 1394 21 March 2015 – 19 March 2016
9 1362* 21 March 1983 – 20 March 1984 1395* 20 March 2016 – 20 March 2017
10 1363 21 March 1984 – 20 March 1985 1396 21 March 2017 – 20 March 2018
11 1364 21 March 1985 – 20 March 1986 1397 21 March 2018 – 20 March 2019
12 1365 21 March 1986 – 20 March 1987 1398 21 March 2019 – 19 March 2020
13 1366* 21 March 1987 – 20 March 1988 1399* 20 March 2020 – 20 March 2021
14 1367 21 March 1988 – 20 March 1989 1400 21 March 2021 – 20 March 2022
15 1368 21 March 1989 – 20 March 1990 1401 21 March 2022 – 20 March 2023
16 1369 21 March 1990 – 20 March 1991 1402 21 March 2023 – 19 March 2024
17 1370* 21 March 1991 – 20 March 1992 1403* 20 March 2024 – 20 March 2025
18 1371 21 March 1992 – 20 March 1993 1404 21 March 2025 – 20 March 2026
19 1372 21 March 1993 – 20 March 1994 1405 21 March 2026 – 20 March 2027
20 1373 21 March 1994 – 20 March 1995 1406 21 March 2027 – 19 March 2028
21 1374 21 March 1995 – 19 March 1996 1407 20 March 2028 – 19 March 2029
22 1375* 20 March 1996 – 20 March 1997 1408* 20 March 2029 – 20 March 2030
23 1376 21 March 1997 – 20 March 1998 1409 21 March 2030 – 20 March 2031
24 1377 21 March 1998 – 20 March 1999 1410 21 March 2031 – 19 March 2032
25 1378 21 March 1999 – 19 March 2000 1411 20 March 2032 – 19 March 2033
26 1379* 20 March 2000 – 20 March 2001 1412* 20 March 2033 – 20 March 2034
27 1380 21 March 2001 – 20 March 2002 1413 21 March 2034 – 20 March 2035
28 1381 21 March 2002 – 20 March 2003 1414 21 March 2035 – 19 March 2036
29 1382 21 March 2003 – 19 March 2004 1415 20 March 2036 – 19 March 2037
30 1383* 20 March 2004 – 20 March 2005 1416* 20 March 2037 – 20 March 2038
31 1384 21 March 2005 – 20 March 2006 1417 21 March 2038 – 20 March 2039
32 1385 21 March 2006 – 20 March 2007 1418 21 March 2039 – 19 March 2040
33 1386 21 March 2007 – 19 March 2008 1419 20 March 2040 – 19 March 2041

How Accurate is the Calendar?

The Solar Hijri calendar is very accurate. It determines the start of each year by observing the actual moment of the spring equinox. This is different from calendars like the Gregorian calendar, which use a fixed pattern of leap years. Because the Solar Hijri calendar is tied to the Earth's real movement, the start of its year always matches one of the two equinoxes. These are the special days when day and night are about the same length. This means that specific dates on the Solar Hijri calendar will always line up well with the positions of the Sun and Earth.

This graph shows when the spring equinox happens compared to the start of the Solar Hijri year.

A Temporary Calendar Change in Iran

On March 14, 1975, during the Pahlavi era in Iran, the government changed the calendar's starting point. Instead of using the Hijrah, they decided to start counting from the supposed first year of Cyrus the Great's rule. This new calendar was called the "Shahanshahi Calendar". Because of this change, the year number suddenly jumped from 1354 to 2534.

However, this change didn't last long. On August 27, 1978, the calendar was changed back to its original starting point, the Hijrah. The old year numbering was brought back.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Calendario persa para niños

External links

  • How the leap years are calculated
  • Meaning of the names of the months in the Persian Calendar
Online calendars and converters
  • An online Persian (shamsi)/Gregorian/Islamic (hijri) date converter on http://www.iranchamber.com
  • Online Persian Calendar and converter from parstimes.com



ku:Salnameya Îranî tr:İran takvimi

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