<rich:calendar id="date" datePattern="MMM-yyyy"                   value="#{foo.date}"/>

the entity

@Length (max=8)
private String date;

public String getDate() { .. }

public void setDate(String date) {
   this.date timePeriod = MyDateUtils.formatDate(date);
}

formateDate, simply converts the long Date/Timestamp/Timezone string into a 'MMM-YYYY' string. (size-8).

The problem is, when I submit my form, hibernate validator gets invoked even before the setter is called. As Richfaces, converts the Date object into a Date/Timestamp/Timezone string, I get an error as the length is gt 8.

How can I convert the pattern that the richfaces tag submits or how do I convert the pattern before hib validators are called?