Having its own calendar which is eight years behind that of the Gregorian, Ethiopia has counted 2,012 years till September 12 this year. Although the calendar is derived from Ge’ez, all Ethiopians who are living in the country and abroad celebrate the New Year, locally called Enkutatash, heralded by a blessing of leaders from different religious origins, and a wish from higher officials through televised messages.
On the eve of the New Year, each religious leader has conveyed their message of peace, love and harmony.
Abune Mathias I Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of Saint Tekle Haymanot, First Mufti, Honorable Dr. Hajji Omar Idris, Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Council President and Chairman of the Ulema, Yonas Yigezu, President of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, (EECMY), Ethiopian Catholic Church Archbishop, Cardinal Berhaneyesus and Pastor Tsadeku Abedo, President of the Ethiopian Evangelical Churches Union are among the religious leaders who have conveyed a new year message for all Ethiopians.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Merigeta Enqueselasie Belay, Scholar in Ge’ez Studies under the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, said though Ethiopia’s calendar is unique and originated from Ge’ez, it is used as a working calendar for all religions and government institutions in the country.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian calendar has 13 months that makes the country unique and known as ‘Land of Origins’ by its tourism brand. The 13th month called Pagumen has five days in every three years and six days in a leap year while the rest 12 months from September to August have 30 days each, he noted.
“Apart from the above features; Ethiopians celebrate the New Year once on September, while most African, Asian and other countries celebrate their respective New Year twice. They always celebrate their New Year in January and their national freedom day on some another day. But, Ethiopia and Ethiopians celebrates only its New Year and certainly its national victory day that our forefathers have inherited for us in the contrary,” he added.
Adding to the point, Merigeta Enqueselasie avowed that this Ethiopian New Year indicates unity which is even on diversity. As Ethiopia has nine regions and two city administrations, the presidents and or vice presidents of each regions and city administrations have also conveyed wishful message for their residents and all Ethiopians as well.
As part of the Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), although people of Gedio and Sidama have their own seasons to welcome the New Year, they also celebrate the Ethiopian New Year on September 11 or 12 together with the rest of the Ethiopian society. It is also witnessed that all Ethiopian higher government officials including the Premier and President also convey message about the New Year including the celebrations among the Sidama, Gedeo and Wolayta Peoples, he stated.
Mohammod Hussien, one of the Muslim Communities lives in Addis Ababa on his part said that the Ethiopian New Year is special for all Ethiopians basically because of its flowerily season. As the month of September is a transitional period from the rainy season to the hottest and dryer season. Apart from this, September is a month in which new flowers and green plants are observed everywhere, Mohammod explained.
He additionally explained: “The Ethiopian New Year celebration is a symbol of unity and hope that everyone starts new life. Therefore, we should drop all the unnecessary acts we wrongly did in the preceding year; and we should plan for new and significant outcomes to be attained in the New Year.”
Besides the uniqueness of the Ethiopian New Year celebration, people need to act out the biblical verse that goes as “be as shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves” while celebrating the New Year. Here, the message implies that we should abandon every negative thought and start to live a genuine life in the New Year with peace, harmony and new hope, Merigeta Enqueselasie advised.
The Ethiopian Herald September 14, 2019
BY HIZKEL HAILU
