Festivals in Ethiopia

Religion playing such an important role in the Ethiopian society, festivals and ceremonies provide many high points in the calendar; both Ethiopian Orthodox Church and others are celebrates many times festivities per year.
The various ethnic groups have their own new years and other festivals and ceremonies, some unique to that culture while others are common to many.
The following are the most famous festivals common to most cultures. Nevertheless, although every festival has some features common to all, each ethnic group has its own version.

Timket means baptism: or Ethiopian celebration of Epiphany this is the most colorful event in the year when churches parade their Tabots to a nearby body of water.
This is the commemoration of Christ’s baptism, which falls on the 19th of January. The Tabot or Ark of covenant is taken out in the afternoon on the eve of epiphany and stays overnight with the priests and faithful congregation. The following morning the water is blessed and splashed over everyone in a ceremony where the faithful renew their vows to the church. If the body of water is large enough, some people will immerse themselves. Children participate in the ritual for fertility. After the ceremony, the Tabot is paraded back to its Church accompanied by much singing and dancing, this festival is a unique one since everyone believes that they should be dressed up in their finest clothing.  

Irreecha celebration oromo Ritual” this unique event takes place on the shore of lake Bishoftu and shore of Hora finefine by the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. This celebration done by the local as a thanksgiving days to their god (waqaa) for everything’s he has Given to them all years long, Thanksgiving holidays cerebrating the end of the winter in oromia region, the oromo people celebrate Irreecha to thank Waaqa (God) for the Blessings and mercies they have received throughout the previous years, the Irreecha festival is celebrated every year at the beginning of Birraa (spring), new season after the Dark and rain winter season. And Irreecha is thanksgiving festivals that Brings together all the main clans and sub clans of the oromo:  in 2019 the festival was celebrated in the nation’s and oromias capital city finfine or Addis Ababa for the first time in 150 years, celebrated by around 8million people, meskel and irreecha are celebrated in the first months of the new year just in weeks one after other. 

Fasika or Easter

This is a festival that follows a fasting period of 55 days. During this time, no animal product is eaten and the faithful do not eat anything from animals product  at all until the daily service is finished after 55 days
The fasting period culminates on the last two and half days long fasting ritual.

Enkutatash =Ethiopian New Year

 The New Year falls in September at the end of big rains. The sun comes out to shine all days long creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh clean air. The highlands turn to gold as the meskel daisies burst out in all their splendor and  Ethiopian most impotent secular holidays, New Year has a double significance as the Date when the queen of sheba supposedly arrived back in Axum after having visited king Solomon in Jerusalem, This is celebrated on the 11th of September. Various Ethiopian people’s have their own new years and respective celebrations.

Maskal = sharing its name with the yellow flower that blankets the Ethiopia highlands at that time of year and Finding of true cross

This is celebrated in memory of the Finding of the True Cross by Empress Eleni. This is as colorful as Timket, however instead of water, the focus of the celebration is a bonfire topped with an image of a cross to which flowers are tied.
Priests in full ceremonial dress bless the bonfire before it is lit. This festival coincides with the mass blooming of the golden Yellow Maskal flower or this flower only seen once a year’s called Adey Ababa in Amharic; symbolically heralding the advent of a new year after the rainy season is over.

Genna = Christmas     

Genna also known as leddet, commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ, This event, falling on the 7th of January, is celebrated seriously by a church service that goes on throughout the night, with people moving from one church to another.
Traditionally, young men play a game called Genna that is similar to the European hockey.