Seriously, do they know it's Christmas time?: time and dates in Ethiopia

One of the more interesting tidbits I learned from my Ethiopia guidebook related to telling time.

  

According to the Bradt guide, Ethiopians measure time in 12-hour cycles starting at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.  So what I would consider 7 Seattle time, Ethiopians would consider 1.  Also, Ethiopians only worry about gradations of five minutes - so four minutes past five become five minutes past five.  

The calendar in Ethiopia is different too.  Again the Bradt guide explains, in 1582 the Christian world dropped the Julian calendar in favor of the Gregorian calendar.  Ethiopia never made the switch.  As a result, Ethiopia is seven years and eight months "behind" the rest of the world.  (Right now it's 2001 in Ethiopia.)

Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7 and New Years on September 11.  Looks like I'll be arriving in Ethiopia right in time for the after-Christmas sales!