Ethiopian New Year 2020: History and Significance of the Enkutatash day
Ethiopian New Year is the first day of the month of Meskerem, which compares to 11 September on the Gregorian Calendar. Known as Enkutatash is a public holiday in the occurrence of New Year in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The holiday is named “Enkutatash”, signifying “a gift of jewels” since it is thought that the Queen of Sheba got back to Ethiopia on this day approximately 3,000 years prior with a gift of jewels from King Solomon of Israel.
Why was September picked at the start of the new year in Ethiopia?
To start with, because it is believed this is the time of year when God made the world in seven days. Additionally, around the time of Ethiopian New Year, the amount of daylight and dark in a 24-hour day is balanced. At long last, this is the time at which the rainy, stormy months end, and spring-like climate begins in Ethiopia.
One New Year tradition is for groups of girls to travel around singing and conveying yellow flowers. Individuals frequently reward singers with food or cash. Boys may make paintings and other artwork and give it out door-to-door on New Year’s Day. At home, families fire up enormous bonfires and dance around them on Ethiopian New Year’s Eve. A feast may happen with menu items, for example, chicken stew, injera flatbread, coffee, honey wine, tela beer, and popcorn.
Enkutatash – Ethiopian New Year History
The Ethiopian calendar depends on the Egyptian and Julian calendars, which were brought to Ethiopia by missionaries. The Ethiopian year comprises of a year of 30 days, in addition to a thirteenth month (Pagume) of five or six timekeeping days. This implies Ethiopians are right now seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian calendar used in most of the world.
Enkutatash implies the ‘gift of jewels’. As indicated by legend, the Queen of Sheba got back from her famous visit King Solomon of Jerusalem somewhere in the range of 3,000 years prior, with jewels gifted by her host. Her return of Ethiopia after accepting this gift concurred with the New Year celebration in September, and thus the name Enkutatash became.
It is likewise said that the holiday depends on the Ethiopian calendar, which was fixed to the Julian calendar in 25 BC by Roman Emperor Augustus. The date denotes the approximate finish of the rainy season and Ethiopians believe that September has various signs clarifying why it ought to be praised as the beginning of a New Year. It is a time for blossoming flowers, sunny days, and generally pleasant weather, as well as permitting the individuals to individuals leave the rainy, foggy, and thunderous months behind and proceed onward to better days.
Celebrating the Ethiopian New Year
When every September, the numbers of daylight hours and nighttime hours happen to be equivalent over the world, which is another explanation Ethiopians observe New Year during this month. During this time of the year, the Sun and the Moon that are used to count time on the Ethiopian solar calendar each have 12 hours before setting on.
One of the most interesting practices of the New Year is when groups of youthful Ethiopian girls go around playing out a song called ‘Abebayehosh.’ You could be at home staring at the TV or simply out for a leisure stroll when the girls approach serenading you with song and some quite great drumming. They carry bright-yellow flowers, which develop in Ethiopia just from September to November. As a token of gratefulness, individuals usually react with cash or bread arranged for the holidays. Hope to get heartwarming praises from the children, wishing you more wealth and favorable luck for the coming year. It’s all good fun.
The Ethiopian New year is a celebration including the whole family. While the girls are out singing and applauding their hearts out, the boys are making excellent paintings that envoy the happening to a splendid new day, which they at that point go from house to house giving out their masterpieces on the morning of the holiday to family members, neighbors, and companions.
Celebrations for the Ethiopian New Year usually last for a week and are focused on family events. The holiday begins on New Year’s Eve, when every household light wooden torches called “chibo” in the Amharic language, that symbolize the happening to the new season of sunshine after the finish of the rainy season that has won since June.