People dance, sing and light bonfires to mark the occasion across the country. Some dress in white and cover the ground with green grass, while others celebrate until the early hours of dawn, under fireworks in the sky.
Ethiopia is one of those countries where 11 September reminds them not only of a recent tragedy, but also of a happy event rooted in history: the Ethiopian New Year according to its ancient Christian calendar.
Ethiopia, a prominent Christian land since antiquity, has developed over the centuries in relative isolation from the rest of the world. Although it was linked to Alexandria and the Coptic nation, the connection remained fragile, and the Ethiopians’ tendency to independence made their country unique in many ways.
Their current calendar, known as the ‘Age of Grace’, is a testament to this independence. It was created by the monk Anyanos and is seven years and eight months behind the modern Western calendar (the Gregorian calendar). Thus, Ethiopians have stuck to the ancient Christian calendar. It is worth mentioning that the calendar has changed several times over the ages. Even in France, we shared with our Ethiopian brothers the same calendar introduced by Victorius Aquitaine in the 5th century AD until the time of Charlemagne.
The Ethiopian New Year is celebrated by about 120 to 130 million Ethiopians, Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim and Protestant, freezing the country . It is not just a folklore, but a true tradition in a living calendar.
It may seem surprising that some people live in a different year, but it’s important to realise that calendars are set arbitrarily. The Romans celebrated New Year at the beginning of March, until Caesar changed New Year’s Day to 1 January. The Merovingians then moved the start of the year back to March with the arrival of spring. In the East, the Byzantines started the New Year on 1 September.
One celebrant and his friends told our head of mission in Ethiopia: “It is not our most important feast, but it unites us, because it is not a religious feast and has a real national dimension.” The Ethiopian New Year’s Day, or as it is locally called “Enkotatash”, brings the country together despite its ethnic and religious divisions and its attempts to catch up with modernity in a world that is not as far removed from it as it once was.
The arbitrariness of Ethiopian New Year’s Day is actually linked to a beautiful story. Legend has it that Makeda, Queen of Sheba, arrived in Jerusalem on this day to meet King Solomon. She entered the holy city with a majestic entourage: “And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones” (1 Kings 10:2). The two kings spoke at length, and admiring the king’s wisdom, the queen offered him: “And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.” (1 Kings 10:10). in addition to rare woods unknown in Judea.
“The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.” (1 Kings 10:12). Solomon gave her gifts in return before she left for the far far away lands that would later become the Kingdom of Aksum and then present-day Ethiopia.
Legend has it that the two biblical kings had a son named Menelik, the founder of the Solomonic dynasty. It was he who, at his mother’s request, stole the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem and brought it back to Ethiopia, where it is still preserved today in Aksum, the ancient capital in the north of the country.
When the Queen of Sheba returned from Jerusalem, she was received with great pomp, and her subjects presented her jewels. Thus, Enkotatash means the “Feast of the Presentation of Jewellery”.
This feast marks also the end of summer and the rainy season. Ethiopia’s highland summers are relatively cool and rainy. With the New Year, the dry season finally arrives, temperatures rise again and sun shines for months on end.
