Celebrations in Ethiopia are great and colorful events, mostly religious, and frequently take place over several days. Important Christian holidays include Meskal, Christmas, Timkat, Kiddus Yohannes and Easter. Timkat, which marks Christ's baptism, is the most colorful event of the year. In September, the two-day feast of Meskal marks the finding of the True Cross. Kiddus Yohannes, New Year's Day comes on September 11, which coincides with the end of the season of heavy rains and the beginning of spring.
Muslim holidays are based on the lunar calendar and thus fall at different times each year. The ninth month of the Muslim calendar is devoted to Ramadan, which is marked Priests at Timkat, Ethiopia. by fasting. The greatest Muslim feast of the year is 'Id Al Fatr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan. The 'Id al Adha is the feast marking Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac as commanded by God. On these days, after praying and listening to the imam (religious leader), Muslim Ethiopians sacrifice animals and distribute part of the meat to the poor. Wearing new clothes, they visit friends and relatives as well as family graves.
Ethiopian New Year
Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) 11 September
This festival celebrates both the New Year and the Feast of John the Baptist at the end of the long rains in spring, when the Highlands become covered in wild flowers.
Meskel in Addis (Finding of the true cross)
In the Ethiopian Orthodox Meskel is an annual religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena, the mother of the great Roman Emperor Constantine (Saint Helena). Meskel happens on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or September 28 in leap years). "Meskel" (or "Meskal" or "Mesqel", there are various ways to transliterate from Ge'ez to Latin script) is Ge'ez for "cross".
Great Ethiopian Run
The Great Ethiopian Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.The competition was first envisioned by neighbors Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, Peter Middlebrook and Abi Masefield in late October 2000, following Haile's return from the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Timkat (Epiphany)
Timkat is a religious celebration in commemoration of the baptism of Jesus Christ in Jordan River. It is celebrated every year on January 19 or 20 on leap year. During the Timakt the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, which is present on every Ethiopian altar (somewhat like the Western altar stone), is reverently wrapped in rich cloth and born in procession on the head of the priest. The Tabot, which is otherwise rarely seen by the laity, represents the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah when he came to the Jordan for baptism.
Christmas in Lalibela
Lalibela is a nondescript town of a few dusty streets atop a rugged mountain about 703 Km north of Addis Ababa. But its 11 rock-hewn churches out of which 4 are monolithic– carved out of the red volcanic stone in the 12th century, and now a World heritage Site – are thronged by pilgrims every Christmas.
Easter in Lalibela
Fasika is the Amharic word for Easter. Ethiopian Easter, or Fasika, takes place in Orthodox Churches throughout the country, and follows the eastern method of calculating Easter thus tending to fall after Easter in the Western calendar (some years both falls on the same date).
Axum Hidar Tsion (end of November St Mary procession)
Hidar Tsion in Axum is a very colorful festival of the Orthodox adherents. As the day of Virgin Mary the festival is attended by tens of thousands of people from all over Ethiopia, making it one of the most joyous annual pilgrimages in Axum, the “sacred city of the Ethiopians.”
Kulibi Gabriel
Kulibi is a mountain located 70 kilometers east of Dire Dawa. It is the location of a major shrine to the Archangel Gabriel, and is a pilgrimage site for members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church and is credited with many miracles.
Palm Sunday in Axum and Entoto Mariam
Hosanna (Palm Sunday); it is celebrated before a week of Easter. It commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ with the disciples into Jerusalem. People welcomed Jesus by spreading palm branches.
Gishen Mariam - (Feast of the Piece of the Cross)
The venue of this festival itself is a marvel. Flying over, one can see the naturally crude cruciform-shaped land feature of Gishen. girdled by sheer cliffs in all directions and with only one access, the church is perched at the top of a hill and had played a significant role in the political history of Medieval Ethiopia as the "Royal Prison." Later, emperor Dawit is said to have brought part of Christ's cross from Egypt.
Negash Mosque
Negash is a village in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, which straddles the Adigrat-Mekele road 10 kilometers north of Wukro located in Wukro woreda. Negash is known as the earliest Muslim settlement in Africa; a seventh century cemetery has been excavated inside the village boundaries.
Sheik Husien
Sheikh Hussein is a village in south-eastern Ethiopia, located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region. The village is name after what, in Ethiopian Muslim eyes, is the most sacred place in that country: the tomb of the thirteenth century Sheikh Hussein, who introduced Islam to the Sidamo people living in the area at the time, and is said to have performed many miracles. A number of these miracles have been recorded in a hagiography published in Cairo in the 1920s, entitled Rabi` al-Qulub.
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Abel Mekonnen , Tour Manager
Addis Ababa , Ethiopia
P.O.Box 13923
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Email : info@tasteethiopia.com
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