PROJECT-E | Empowering Women
  • ABOUT
    • OUR MISSION
    • OUR TEAM
    • IN THE PRESS
    • FAQ
  • GET INVOLVED
    • JOIN PROJECT-E
    • DOWNLOADS
  • PROJECTS
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
  • |
  • DONATE
  • SPONSOR
  • deDeutsch
  • ABOUT
    • OUR MISSION
    • OUR TEAM
    • IN THE PRESS
    • FAQ
  • GET INVOLVED
    • JOIN PROJECT-E
    • DOWNLOADS
  • PROJECTS
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
  • |
  • DONATE
  • SPONSOR
  • deDeutsch
24/12/2017  |  By Eden Tadesse

Christmas in Ethiopia

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
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pal_pics/
Addis Ababa empowerment feminism gender equality planning strategyweekend volunteerism women’s rights
Previous StoryThree Questions to … Misrak Hailu, a new student at the Hospitality Institute
Next StoryParticipating in (and eventually winning) a fundraising competition – a rewarding experience for Team Europe

Related Articles

  • Element 9
    Strategy Weekend 2021
  • Team Thursday – Elena

Search

Latest Posts

  • Image1
    Team Thursday – Jihan Thursday, 5, Jan
  • 93843E9C-7553-4762-B8F8-F52B14BFA840_1_201_a
    Team Thursday – Maximilian Thursday, 29, Dec
  • WhatsApp Image 2022-12-20 at 13.02.33
    PROJECT-E wishes you all a Merry Christmas! Sunday, 25, Dec
  • Ethiopia
    “The best is yet to come” – A conversation with PROJECT-E’s Country Representative, Feben Tamrat Tuesday, 7, Jun
  • pexels-liza-summer-6348104 – Copy
    What does giving and offering mean? Wednesday, 5, Jan

Categories

Tags

Addis Ababa alumni awareness cleaning earth communications cook culture donations eco battle education empowerment Ethiopia ethiopian experience feminism fundraising funraising gender equality hospitality institute hotel show africa Human Rights inspiring italy lockdown management board passion pehi planning productivity Project-E PROJECT-E Hospitality Institute strategyweekend Talent Management team members TeamThursday team thursday united nations vienna volunteer volunteerism women women's empowerment women empowerment women’s rights youth

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • June 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015

WHO WE ARE

  • PRESS
  • CONTACT
  • FAQ

WHAT WE DO

  • OUR MISSION
  • GET INVOLVED
  • NEWS & EVENTS
  • DOWNLOADS
  • SUBSCRIBE

ABOUT US

PROJECT-E is an international NGO whose mission is to provide job opportunities for young Ethiopian women from underprivileged social backgrounds through sustainable and market-oriented education in a transparent and responsible manner.

FIND US ELSEWHERE


An International NGO run by a global team of students and young professionals

Imprint Copyright PROJECT-E 2007-2021. All Rights Reserved

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

  • enEnglish
  • deGerman
PROJECT-E | Empowering Women
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.