Neyrouz (Coptic New Year) 1729

For Coptic readers, and members of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Churches as well, happy new year. Besides September 11's obvious meaning for so many of us, it also marks the new year in these traditions. Known in Coptic tradition as Neyrouz (said to be a conflation of an ancient Egyptian word with Persian Nowruz, which of course is in the spring), the calendar also dates from the persecutions of Diocletian, AD 284, so that this is Year of the Martyrs 1729.