What are the names of the Coptic months?

The answer

Certain papyri dating from the fifth century B. C. discovered on the island of Elephantine indicate that the Egyptians of the time celebrated great feasts in honor of the gods whose names were given to the months of the ancient Egyptian calendar. The Copts preserved the names of the ancient Egyptian months, despite the fact that they are the names of pagan gods or their feasts. The names of the months are:

1. Thout (begins 11^th September / 12^th September in a leap year): God of wisdom and

knowledge, inventor of writing, protector of scribes, and designer of seasons and months. Thout presides over the “House of Life” and is the source of all the texts necessary to preserve and renew life.

2. Paopi (10^th/11^th October): The Feast of Opet. Amun-Ra was accustomed to travelling

from the Temple of Karnak to the Temple of Luxor to celebrate this famous festival.

3. Hathor (10^th/11^th November): The goddess Hathor, the cow of the heavens, who gave

birth to the sun and all beings: both divine and human; goddess of gold and of grains, especially wheat. Thus she was called, “Hathor the Golden.”

4. Koiak (10^th/11^th December): This name is derived from a certain ritual of incense

used in funerary celebrations known as “union with the spirit (ka).” This was also the month for celebrating the feasts of Osiris.

5. Tobi (9^th/10^th January): Also called Botti.

6. Meshir (8^th/9^th February): “The Great” where “The Great Fire” is.

7. Paremhotep (10^th/11^th March). One of the harvest months for the ancient Egyptians.

8. Parmoute (9^th April): Dedicated to Ernūtet, the goddess of harvest, who had the head

of a cobra and sometimes nursed her son, Khepri, a god of grain.

9. Pashons (9^th May): Derived from an ancient feast called Khonsu, a lunar deity,

anciently referred to as the son of Amun and Mut.

10. Paoni (8^th June): The Feast of the “Beautiful Valley” was celebrated during this

month in the Valley of the Kings for ten days. It was considered the most important of the feasts of the ancient Egyptians, when sacrifices were offered, tombs were visited, and food was offered in honor of the deceased, all with the participation of relatives, dancers, and musicians.⁶³⁸

11. Epip (8^th July): Dedicated to the goddess of fertility, Ipy.

12. Mesori (7^th August): The last month in which they celebrated the birth of the sun god,

Ra.

13. Lastly, Al-Nasy or Pi-Kogi Enavot (Pikouji `n`abot) or the little month (6^th

September): Osiris is celebrated during the first days of this month.

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty