Christmas known as Genna in Ethiopia is a celebration rich with culture and rituals making it a beloved holiday amongst all Ethiopian Christians and tribes. Being the oldest nation in Africa, Ethiopia and especially the Orthodox Church continues to use the old Julian calendar. Thus Genna falling on January 7th each year.
In anticipation of Genna there is 43 days fasting period by the Orthodox faith followers known as the fast of the Prophet. The fast is broken at the crack of dawn on the morning of Genna. During this time of fasting only vegan meals are eaten, some only have one meal a day and others, like children can break their fast during lunchtime.
On the morning of Genna the Orthodox church starts mass at 12:30am and ends at 3:00am other Christian faith followers celebrate in various ways thought the evening until dawn. Then everyone that has not yet attended church dressed in a white traditionally weaved cotton cloth gets ready to go to church. After the church ceremony is a complete, families and friends gather together for a Genna feast and traditional coffee. The Genna meals are a very important part of the celebration and highly anticipated. The full feast involves a freshly killed Lamb according to the Orthodox faith the Lamb can only be killed the day of Genna not before, it is used to make tibes, which involves frying the lamb meat using herbs and spices; the iconic celebratory meal, Doro Wet (Chicken Stew) is also prepared and a large round bread (Defo Dabo). These three combinations are the main and common part of the feast however there are several dishes that make up the full banquet and of course with everything there is Injera, a wide, round, thin, flat bread to eat the stews with. 
One of the unique aspects about Genna in Ethiopia is the exchanging of gifts, which is not a common part of the celebration. However, parents traditionally tend to buy their children new clothes. Hence, making the season of Genna in Ethiopia mainly focused on religion, family, feasting and games rather than the exchanging of gifts.
The other unique feature of the Genna celebration is the Genna game mostly played in the rural areas. A hockey like game played with a curved stick and round wooden ball by men and boys. According to an Ethiopian legend this games is an expression of celebration started by the shepherds in the biblical times when they were informed of the birth of the Messiah.
Written by Sena Kinati
