Ethiopian Holidays

Ethiopian New Year (Enqutatash) Is One Of The Pre-Eminently Celebrated Festivals Of All. Marked On Meskerem 1st Of The Ethiopian Calendar Or September 11th Of The European Calendar. It Is An Ethiopian Holiday Shared Among People Of All Religions And Almost All Cultures Throughout The Country. It Is A Season Where The Three Months Heavy Rain Ends And The Sun Comes Out. Daisies Blossom All Over The Mountains And Fields Change Into Bright Yellow, Which Is A Major Eminence Of The Holiday. It Is A Period When The Old Bless The Young And The Young Hope For New Prospects, Which New Year Brings About.

The Festival Varies From Region To Region As To How It Is Celebrated. Ethiopians Celebrate The New Year Starting From The Eve By Burning A More Like Christmas Tree Made Out Of Twigs In Front Of Their Houses. The Aroma Of The Traditional Bread Being Baked In Conventional Ovens, And The Sounds Of Animals Bought And Ready To Be Slaughtered For The Next Day Makes The Eve More Remarkable.

Feast Of The Sacrifice, The Major Festival,The Greater Eid, Kurban Bayram (Turkish: Kurban Bayramı; Bosnian: Kurban-Bajram), Eid E Qurban Or Bakr’Eid , Is The Second Of Two Religious Holidays Celebrated By Muslims Worldwide Each Year. It Honors The Willingness Of Abraham (Ibrahim) To Sacrifice His Young First-Born Son Ishmael (Ismail)A As An Act Of Submission To God’s Command, Before God Then Intervened To Provide Abraham With A Lamb To Sacrifice Instead. In The Lunar-Based Islamic Calendar, Eid Al-Adha Falls On The 10th Day Of Dhu Al-Hijjah And Lasts For Four Days. In The International Gregorian Calendar, The Dates Vary From Year To Year, Drifting Approximately 11 Days Earlier Each Year.

Eid Al-Adha Is The Latter Of The Two Eid Holidays, The Former Being Eid Al-Fitr. The Basis For The Eid Al-Adha Comes From The 196th Ayah (Verse) Of Al-Baqara, The Second Sura Of The Quran. The Word “Eid” Appears Once In Al-Ma’ida, The Fifth Sura Of The Quran, With The Meaning “Solemn Festival”.

The Meskel Celebration Includes The Burning Of A Large Bonfire, Or Demera, Based On The Belief That Queen Eleni Had A Revelation In A Dream. She Was Told That She Shall Make A Bonfire And That The Smoke Would Show Her Where The True Cross Was Buried. So She Ordered The People Of Jerusalem To Bring Wood And Make A Huge Pile. After Adding Frankincense To It The Bonfire Was Lit And The Smoke Rose High Up To The Sky And Returned To The Ground, Exactly To The Spot Where The Cross Had Been Buried.

One Explanation For The High Rank This Festival Has In The Church Calendar Is That It’s Believed That A Part Of The True Cross Has Been Brought To Ethiopia From Egypt. It Is Said To Be Kept At Amba Geshen, Which Itself Has A Cross Shape.

While The Gregorian Calendar Celebrates Christmas On The 25th Of December, Ethiopia Still Retains The Ancient Julian Calendar In Which Christmas Falls On January 7th (Of The Gregorian Calendar.) Its Typically, A Hot Summer Day And People In Towns And Villages Dress Up In Their Finest To Celebrate.

The Ethiopian Name Given To Christmas Is Ledet Or Genna Which, According To Elders, Comes From The Word Gennana, Meaning “Imminent” To Express The Coming Of The Lord And The Freeing Of Mankind From Sin. Genna Is Also The Name Given To A Hockey-Like Ball Game. Legend Has It That When Shepherds Heard Of The Birth Of Christ They Rejoiced And Started Playing The Game With Their Sticks. Men And Boys In Villages Now Play The Traditional Genna Game With Great Enthusiasm In The Late Afternoon Of Christmas Day, A Spectacle Much Enjoyed By Village Communities And The Elders Who Referee The Game.

Timket Is The Greatest Festival Of Orthodox Christians In Ethiopia. Falling On The 19 Of January (Or The 20 Of January Once In Every Four Years), It Celebrates The Baptism Of Christ In The River Jordan By John The Baptist. It’s A Three-Day Affair And All The Ceremonies Are Conducted With Great Pomp. The Eve Of Timket (18 January) Is Called Ketera. On This Day The Tabots Of Each Church Are Carried Out In Procession To A Place Near A River Where The Next Day’s Celebration Will Take Place. A Special Tent Is Set Up For Each Tabot, Each Hosting A Proud Manner Depicting The Church’s Saint. The Ceremony Is Accompanied By Hymns And Dances Of The Priests, Drum Beating, Bell Ringing And Blowing Of Trumpets.

Feast Of The Sacrifice, The Major Festival,The Greater Eid, Kurban Bayram (Turkish: Kurban Bayramı; Bosnian: Kurban-Bajram), Eid E Qurban Or Bakr’Eid , Is The Second Of Two Religious Holidays Celebrated By Muslims Worldwide Each Year. It Honors The Willingness Of Abraham (Ibrahim) To Sacrifice His Young First-Born Son Ishmael (Ismail)A As An Act Of Submission To God’s Command, Before God Then Intervened To Provide Abraham With A Lamb To Sacrifice Instead. In The Lunar-Based Islamic Calendar, Eid Al-Adha Falls On The 10th Day Of Dhu Al-Hijjah And Lasts For Four Days. In The International Gregorian Calendar, The Dates Vary From Year To Year, Drifting Approximately 11 Days Earlier Each Year.

Eid Al-Adha Is The Latter Of The Two Eid Holidays, The Former Being Eid Al-Fitr. The Basis For The Eid Al-Adha Comes From The 196th Ayah (Verse) Of Al-Baqara, The Second Sura Of The Quran. The Word “Eid” Appears Once In Al-Ma’ida, The Fifth Sura Of The Quran, With The Meaning “Solemn Festival”.

Feast Of The Sacrifice, The Major Festival,The Greater Eid, Kurban Bayram (Turkish: Kurban Bayramı; Bosnian: Kurban-Bajram), Eid E Qurban Or Bakr’Eid , Is The Second Of Two Religious Holidays Celebrated By Muslims Worldwide Each Year. It Honors The Willingness Of Abraham (Ibrahim) To Sacrifice His Young First-Born Son Ishmael (Ismail)A As An Act Of Submission To God’s Command, Before God Then Intervened To Provide Abraham With A Lamb To Sacrifice Instead. In The Lunar-Based Islamic Calendar, Eid Al-Adha Falls On The 10th Day Of Dhu Al-Hijjah And Lasts For Four Days. In The International Gregorian Calendar, The Dates Vary From Year To Year, Drifting Approximately 11 Days Earlier Each Year.

Eid Al-Adha Is The Latter Of The Two Eid Holidays, The Former Being Eid Al-Fitr. The Basis For The Eid Al-Adha Comes From The 196th Ayah (Verse) Of Al-Baqara, The Second Sura Of The Quran. The Word “Eid” Appears Once In Al-Ma’ida, The Fifth Sura Of The Quran, With The Meaning “Solemn Festival”.