Use the form below to convert between dates from a Gregorian calendar toa Shenshai calendar (or vice-versa).
For example, you can use this to findthe roj for a particular date (such as your birthday), as well as what date the roj falls onin a given year. Alternatively, you can see what date a given roj fallson in any year.
Note that in a Zoroastrian calendar, a roj starts at sunrise and ends at sunrise the following day, as opposed to starting at 12:00am. For example, if you were born on July 16th 1980, the Shenshai roj is Ashishvangh (Bahman). Howeverif you were born at 3:00am, the roj is the preceding one Din (Bahman) because Ashishvangh doesn't begin until sunrise.The conversion tool has a "Before Sunrise?" option account for this difference between the start of a day and start of a roj. Because sunrise times can vary, this tool uses 6:00am as the crossover time.
You can export the calendar as an iCalendar file for import into your Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. calendar. The form below will create a '.ics' file for you to download. The export contains one event per day for the selected year, with the roj/mah as the event name. You can then import this into your calendar application to see the roj/mah for each day.
For example, to use this with your Google Calendar:
- Download the iCalendar file using the button below.
- Set up a new calendar in your Google Calendar application. We recommend importing into a new calendar as this makes it easier to reverse your changes in case you don't like the results; you can simply delete the new calendar thus not affecting any events in your existing calendars.
- Import events into your calendar using the file exported/downloaded from this site.
Select Year:
The Shenshai Calendar
In the Shenshai calendar,a year consists of 12 months, or mahs, and each month has 30 days. Each of these daysis known as a roj, and each roj has a name. As 30 days * 12 months = 360 days,there are an additional 5 days (gathas) added to the 12th monthto make a 365 day year.
A solar calendar, however, is around 365 1/4 days, which the Gregorian calendaraccommodates by adding a day every four years (leap day).Because of this difference, the Zoroastrian calendar andsolar year began to diverge. In 1006 C.E. the Zoroastrian calendar and solar year once again aligned, resultingin Navroze occuring on the Vernal Equinox. It was then decided that an extramonth was to be added every 120 years to accommodate for the difference between the solaryear and the Zoroastrian calendar year.
The Zoroastrians in India (Parsis) last remembered to add this extra month in1129 C.E. Consequently, New Year, which originally correlated with the vernal equinoxon March 21st, has since fallen earlier in the Gregorian calendar year such that itnow occurs in August.
The Kadmi Calendar
While the Zoroastrians in India intercalated an extra month to the calendar around 1129 C.E., the Zoroastrians in Irandid not, causing the calendar used by the Iranian Zoroastrians to be ahead by a month. This discrepency was brought tothe attention of the Indian Zoroastrians by a visiting Iranian priest in the 1700s. A group of Indian Zoroastrians(the Kadmi or Qadimi) decided to follow the Iranian calendar, believing it to be more authentic.
The Fasli Calendar
In the early twentieth century, Khurshedji Cama devised the Fasli Calendar, which maintained alignment with the seasons suchthat New Year's day coincides with the vernal equinox. Similar to the Shenshai and Kadmi calendars, it consists of 12 monthsof 30 days with an additional 5 days (gathas), but intercalates a leap day calledAvardad-sal-Gah every four years (patterned after the Gregorian calendar's leap day).
Additional Information
Problems, Errors, Suggestions: If you find problems or inaccuracies with the calculations, please let me know so that I can try to fix them. Send me as much detailed information as possible, including the browser version you are using, the dates you entered, what you expected, etc. Similarly, suggestions for improving the calendar are also welcome. Send feedback using the contact form.
Disclaimer: I hope that this little conversion utility has been useful, but I make no claims nor acceptany liability about its accuracy, quality, availability, etc.
Creative Commons Copyright: Zoroastrian Calendar/Converter and calendar source code is licensed under aCreative Commons License(Non-Commercial, Share-alike).
