Though Jesus Christ is King of the universe, creator of the world, He was born in a manger that can be considered as the first ever lesson of humility. Hence, Lalibela, Ethiopia is well known in celebrating this day colorfully since the time of king Lalibela who constructed the 11 hewn churches from the living rock of monolithic blocks.
‘Lalibela’ indicates both the king and the town of Lasta found at Amhara state with 645 KM distance from Addis Ababa. And it literally derived from two words ‘Lal’ and ‘Libela’. ‘Lal’ is a local language of communities in Lasta to mean ‘honey’ and ‘Libela’ is Amharic language with a meaning ‘to eat’. Therefore, the word in general indicates that the place is well known in honey production.
Significantly, things are special while celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ at this most important holy place of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Lalibela. Diakon Alebachew Sitote, tour guide at Lalibela told The Ethiopian Herald that tourists are flooding to the town in order to participate for the celebration. Town residents, hotels and government institutions, at the four town gates, are eagerly welcoming guests from each corner of the country and across the globe, he noted.
As to him, more than nine centuries have been counted while the town starts celebrating the day. Accordingly, millions of foreigners have visited both the city and the celebration. “When we request them if they have some feedback regarding with the celebration, almost all of them tell us that they were so admired about it. ‘For instance’ said Alebachew ‘unlike any other churches in the Christian states’ is among their response”, he avowed.
“Beza kulu alem yom tewelde” is a religious verse that is used by priests to give thanks to God on the day of the birth of Jesus Christ. It literarily defined as ‘the Savior of the world was born this day’. Priests perform the above verse enthusiastically and colorfully with unique parade.
While chanting the song, some lined up on the top and others at the bottom which is the sign of thanksgiving made by the angles on the cloud and the shepherds at the manger respectively for the Almighty at the time of the birth of Jesus. This is one of the reasons for foreigners to bear witness for the beauty of the celebration, Alebachew stated.
He also explained that due to the great interest of local and foreign visitors for the town particularly for the Ethiopian Christmas pilgrim, most guests are supposed to order hotels before some seven or eight months of January 7.
Merigeta Melkamu Alemu, Cultural and Tourism Office Head at Lalibela City Administration said that things are ready to celebrate Ethiopian Christmas day. He also revealed that average flow of tourists has increased since two to four days.
As to him, in the last Ethiopian fiscal year more than 55 thousands of tourists have visited the town. Perhaps, 65 foreign visitors are expected to visit the town this year. And surprisingly 32 thousand guests have visited the town for the last three months. He also stated that the number of tourists is increasing from time to time due to the attraction of the town.
The Ethiopian Herald January4, 2019
BY HIZKEL HAILU
