Ever seen an Ethiopian Christmas?

Have you ever seen an Ethiopian Christmas? A great Christmas Story!

In the month of January, Ethiopia celebrates Genna, or Orthodox Christmas, on January 7th. On this holiday, Ethiopians fast the entire previous day to prepare body and spirit for the celebration.

On January 7, they dress in shamma, a traditional white dress with bright stripes, and go to church. On this day, families get together to share a traditional Christmas meal of stews and vegetables and drink tej (a fermented honey drink) or tella (corn beer).

It’s a religious celebration

Christmas in Ethiopia is celebrated when lay people go to church to preach and families gather to enjoy a special treat of raw meat, stewed chicken, homemade bread and a traditional mead called Tej. In Ethiopia, Christmas is celebrated quietly with family and friends.

However, unlike Christmas celebrations in the West, Christmas in Ethiopia is still mainly a religious holiday without commercial and expensive gifts. However, this was an excuse for a lively hockey game, and its popularity led to the party’s name, which was officially named Leddat, derived from the game name GANNA.

The main ceremonial activities of the festivities take place around the local Ethiopian Orthodox churches (although they also glorify Protestant and Catholic churches), which hold late night services on Christmas Eve, which last well past midnight. Since Ganna is a very religious event on the Ethiopian calendar, both Orthodox Christians and Rasta attend Mass on Christmas Eve (January 6), known in Ethiopia as the Christmas Gahad.

People attend church mass on Christmas Eve (called the Christmas gahad) at 6:00 pm, and the service ends at around 3:00 am on Christmas day.

My Christmas story experience in Ethiopia!

Before dawn our guide Sefive was waiting for our small group to gather. According to Ethiopian legend, the shepherds of the Christmas tale, upon hearing of the birth of Jesus, celebrated the news with a spontaneous hockey-like game using their wooden sticks. Men and boys from the villages now play with great enthusiasm the traditional game of Genna at the end of the day of Christmas, a spectacle much appreciated by the village communities and the elderly who are judging the game.

This Christmas story, the holiday season (Lidet or Genna) starts early in the morning, it is already 4 am, and people gather in churches for worship after 43 days of fasting (Lidet or Genna) before Christmas. On Christmas Day, everyone will return to the church and spend the day exchanging gifts, celebrating and enjoying time with family and friends. Most people attend church services at Christmas, but the celebration lasts much longer than one day. Starting on November 25th, people will participate in a special 43-day Advent, called the Prophet’s Fast or Tsome Nebiyat.

Before the celebration, there is a 40-day period of fasting and prayer. On the eve of Genna (ice), believers gather in churches dressed in white to rejoice and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, lighting a wax candle along with melodic virgin tares that create a harmonious and delightful atmosphere. In Ethiopia, the Coptic celebration of Christmas is called Ganna, and everyone in the church is holding a candle.

There, priests, monks, deacons and youth celebrate the birth of Christ until dawn, standing with a staff (mekvamia) in their left hand as their only support.

The Church is so festive

The priests wear red and white robes and carry fringed umbrellas. During the Timkat Tabot ceremonies, the model of the Ark of the Covenant that is present on every Ethiopian altar (somewhat similar to the stone of the western altar) is reverently wrapped in rich cloth and carried in procession on the head. priest.

Church members participate in a special Adventist fast for the 43 days before Christmas, which begins on November 25 and is called the Fast of the Prophets. Many go to church at Christmas after taking part in the Nativity Fast called “The Fast of the Prophets,” which begins on November 25 and lasts all 43 days until January 7.

Many Orthodox Christians around the world celebrate Christmas around January 7th.

Western churches celebrate Christmas and some other holidays thirteen days later, so that January 6 and 7 in the Orthodox calendar are equal to December 24 and 25 in the Western calendar.

At the center of their celebrations is the arrival of the Magi to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, confirmed by the belief that one of them came from Ethiopia. In the city of Lalibela, the colorful celebration of the Ethiopian Mass of Christ coincides with the birthday of King Lalibela, who built eleven rock-cut churches about 800 years ago.

Although Jenna is celebrated by Christians throughout Ethiopia, the most famous Christmas holidays probably take place in the historic city of Lalibela. That’s where the real Christmas Story begins. Celebrations in Ethiopia are grand and colorful events, mostly religious, and often last for several days.