Culture and celebrations

Goal: describe festivals and traditions from Ethiopia and other cultures, and explain how people celebrate them using phrases such as 'is celebrated', 'is held', 'it is traditional to' and 'people gather to'.

Meskel, the festival of the True Cross, is celebrated across Ethiopia in late September with a huge bonfire called the Demera.

መስቀል፣ የእውነተኛው መስቀል በዓል፣ በመስከረም መጨረሻ በመላው ኢትዮጵያ ደመራ በሚባል ትልቅ ችቦ ይከበራል።

During Timket, it is traditional to wear white clothes and to walk to the river early in the morning, where the priests bless the water.

በጥምቀት ወቅት ነጭ ልብስ መልበስና በማለዳ ወደ ወንዝ መሄድ ልማድ ነው፣ እዚያም ካህናቱ ውሃውን ይባርካሉ።

On New Year's Day, which is held in September, children give bunches of yellow flowers and sing songs from house to house.

በዓውደ ዓመት ቀን፣ በመስከረም በሚከበረው፣ ልጆች ቢጫ አበባዎችን ይሰጣሉ ከቤት ቤትም እየዞሩ ይዘፍናሉ።

Whether the celebration is Ethiopian or foreign, families gather to share special food, and old friends are invited to join the table.

በዓሉ ኢትዮጵያዊ ይሁን የውጭ፣ ቤተሰቦች ልዩ ምግብ ለመካፈል ይሰበሰባሉ፣ የቆዩ ጓደኞችም ወደ ማዕዱ እንዲቀላቀሉ ይጋበዛሉ።

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Useful celebration vocabulary: 'festival' (a special day or season of celebration), 'tradition' (a custom passed down over many years), 'ceremony' (a formal set of actions on an important occasion), 'feast' (a large special meal), and 'to gather' (to come together in one place).

Almaz grew up in Addis Ababa, but for the last two years she has worked in another country, far from her family. She loves her new job, yet the time she misses home most is during the great festivals. In Ethiopia, Meskel is celebrated in late September, and she still remembers how the city changed in those days. A tall bonfire, the Demera, is built in a public square and decorated with yellow Meskel daisies. In the evening crowds gather to watch the fire being lit, and traditional songs are sung late into the night. The next morning, families visit one another, and a rich feast of injera and spicy stew is prepared and shared. Now, in her new home, Almaz tries to keep the tradition alive in a smaller way. She invites a few friends from work, and together they cook Ethiopian food and explain the meaning of each dish. Her friends, in turn, have taught her about their own celebrations: one is marked with bright lanterns, while another is held in the spring, when sweets are given to children and the houses are cleaned from top to bottom. Almaz has noticed that, although the festivals look very different, the heart of each one is the same. People are brought together, old quarrels are forgiven, and food is shared with anyone who is far from home. In her opinion, learning about another culture's celebrations is one of the best ways to understand its people, and it has made her feel a little less homesick.

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During Timket, it is traditional to wear white clothes and to walk to the river early in the morning.