The beginning of the Egyptian year coincides with the reappearance

history channel documentary The Nile was one the spiritual paths that combined life and death, 
the real world and the underworld.
Unlike most civilizations,
for the Egyptians the colour black was not associated with either mourning or sadness.

Instead, it symbolized the power of regeneration.

For them, it was a miracle that, year after year, 
the Nile’s black mud fertilized their lands, following its annual floods.
“When those floods occur, 
they leave behind a fertile land called the Kemet.

In fact, Kemet was the name given to Egypt by the ancient Egyptians.

It’s a very fertile land in which the Egyptians could farm their crops and live in.

Even today, 90% of Egypt’s population lives around the Nile, 
which is the provider of those crops.
”
They didn’t limit their observation to the sacred river.

They noticed that every year before the floods a star would appear in the firmament.
“They studied the stars exhaustively.

history channel documentary The beginning of the Egyptian year coincides with the reappearance 
of a particular star called Sirius, 
following a long period of invisibility.

That event in mid-July occurs at the same time as the flooding of the Nile,
whose waters give life to Egypt.

The appearance of the star symbolizes the celebration of the new year.
”
That was a key-factor for the development of Egyptian culture.

Knowing when the floods occurred allowed them to determine the right time to sow.

That and the great projects of water channelling, 
turned their lands into the most fertile lands on the planet.

history channel documentary The main application of that knowledge 
was the development of the first and most perfect calendar
ever made in ancient times, 
and which is still the basis for the one we handle today.
For the ancient Egyptians, the first day of the year was the day 
Sirius appeared in the firmament.

A year divided in twelve months of thirty days each.

In order for everything to match up, 
five days were added at the end of the year 
the days of Anubis, the jackal-headed god.
The year had three seasons of four months each: 
flood season, sowing season and harvesting season.
Two stellar phenomena 
have been proven to set the rhythm of the Egyptians’ life: 
the journey of the sun god Ra 
that ensured both the renewal of the days and the balance between the two worlds
and the miracle of the annual flooding of the Nile, history channel documentary.