the reign of the current Emperor Akihito

2011 Will Be A Great Year ! But … Is It 2011 ??

Today’s date is 11 January, in the year 2011 AD (2011-01-11) … using the Gregorian Solar Calendar … a special day !   We know this well … or, rather, we think that we know this …

BUT … this year is also 1432 H … using the Islamic Lunar Calendar … and it began a few weeks ago, back in early December 2010 !   The ‘H’ after the date indicates that it is the ‘Hijri Calendar’ … based on the Qur’ân [Sûrah 9 (At-Tawba): Verses 36 & 37].  Its proper observance is a sacred duty for Muslims.  This is the official calendar for many countries in the Arab Gulf Region.

In Japan … this is the year 23, in the Era of Heisei (written as ‘Heisei 23’) … based on, and beginning with, the reign of the current Emperor Akihito.

In China … the Year of the Rabbit will begin on 3 February 2011 (2011-02-03) !

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What a wonderful world we live in !

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