The two grand fasting seasons of Christians and Muslims, lent and Ramadan respectively have passed through an unprecedented sort of challenge that forced them to spend a unique way of celebrating. How they spend the season has also left a historical memory in the minds of the followers.
Hanan Redwan, from Gita district, Guraghe zone of SNNP region has been working as a waitress in a Café for the past two years. Before her current job, she enjoyed religious holidays with her family back in Gita woreda. Her plan to enjoy the end of this year’s fasting period called Eid al Fitr has been ruined due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
According to Hanan, many muslims travel to their birth places especially in the time of annual religious holidays and enjoy together. It is expected that the events are the means of happiness, supporting each other’s, sharing attitudes, overcoming challenges in life and the like. However, the current pandemic has not ruined only the practice of enjoying with family but it also the vacation of many poor workers like her.
Ismaile Melese, 25, works as a barrister in a café. He came from Agiena woreda, Guraghe zone of SNNP region.
According to him, people from all directions of the country, travel to Addis Ababa in search of better job and living condition. In this regard, different religious followers, travel back to their birth places in order to enjoy with their family. However, most of the time, he rejoins his family during Arafa, or Eid Al-Adha.
Particularly, the pandemic has restricted many followers including him to enjoy the ceremony and banned praying in the mosques so far. As part of this, the family worries about him that he engages in work place during the time of celebration. It is unprecedented during the past many years, he added.
During Eid el Fitr followers are supposed to engage in prayers, charity, social gatherings, offering gift and the like. However, following the outbreak of coronavirus, people had to keep physical distance, using masks, hand sanitizer, washing hands, staying at home, as part of the efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. This has seriously affected
In the same way a little before the onset of the Muslim fasting season of Ramadan, Christian followers spent the Easter ceremony with somehow unusual atmosphere due to coronavirus this year. Unlike their habit in the past many religious followers were not able to observe the holiday with their family.
Ethiopia is celebrating the holiday as per its own calendar through supporting the needy and harmoniously. In this regard, employees and others travel from their working places to the family so as to celebrate the event during the past many years. As part of this, different ceremonial events take place during Easter holiday that the neighbors and the family members are setting the table that so as to drink the coffee and eating the preparing food.
However, such mode of celebration is not possible this year due to the pandemic’s outbreak.
Aba Gebriel Woldehana, Apostolic Service Coordinator at Ethiopian Catholic Church told The Ethiopian Herald that Easter is a holiday that orders people to exercise love, unity, tolerance, clemency, and goodness in the season.
According to Aba Gebriel, the Easter holiday follows two months of fasting that that undergo prayer and blessing to God in order to save our country in particular and the world in general from any hazardous situations. In this regard, Easter is celebrated since the God become inwards from his throne and stand again from death in order to educated how belief, hope and love is the surmount of the world.
He further added that, the people need to give due attention to prevent COVID-19. It shows that citizens need additional information and ever since wake upping from their sleepiness. Some people in this regard say “we are religious and we are not attacking by such type of pandemic. Yes, Ethiopian people are religious but it does not mean that being intelligence, carful, and pray, it is rather not laugh off, message accepters and so on, Aba Gebriel noted.
The Ethiopian Herald May 23/2020
BY MESERET BEHAILU
