Enkutatash
{{short description|Ethiopian and Eritrean New Year holiday}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Enkutatash
እንቁጣጣሽ
|image = File:Ethiopian New Year.jpg
|image_size = 200px
| caption = Enkutatash is an annual holiday observed in September, the perennial Bidens macroptera flower is identified with this holiday due to growing densely in its fully maturation in September.
|type = national
|nickname = Gift of Jewel
|observedby = {{Plainlist|
|significance = First day of the Ethiopian year
|date={{plainlist|
- 11 September
- 12 September (leap year)}}
|scheduling = same day each year according to Ethiopian calendar
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = Annual
|date2025 = 11 September
|celebrations = {{plainlist|
- Relatives especially family members gather and eat meals prepared by chicken's meat natively called doro wat.
- Invitations and well-wishing to relatives and friends.}}
|relatedto = New Year's Day
|weekday=|firsttime=|month=|alt=|ends=|begins=|litcolor=|official_name=|startedby=}}
Enkutatash (Ge'ez: እንቁጣጣሽ) is a public holiday in coincidence of New Year in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It occurs on Meskerem 1 on the Ethiopian calendar, which is 11 September (or, during a leap year, 12 September) according to the Gregorian calendar.
Origin
According to Ethiopian tradition, on 11 September Queen of Sheba (Makeda in Ethiopian) returned to Ethiopia from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Her followers celebrated her return by giving her jewels. Hence ‘‘Enkutatash’’ means the ‘‘gift of jewels’’.{{cite book |last1=Firew |first1=Gedef Abawa |author-link1= |last2=Kaliff |first2=Anders |author-link2= |date=2014 |title=The Source of the Blue Nile: Water Rituals and Traditions in the Lake Tana Region |url= |location= |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |pages=91–95 |isbn=9781443867917}}
Observance
This holiday is based on the Ethiopian calendar. It is the Ethiopian New Year.
Large celebrations are held around the country, notably at the Raguel Church on Mount Entoto.{{Cite web|title=Time and dates in Ithiopia [sic] |url=http://www.rastaites.com/Ethiopia/newyear.htm |publisher=Rasta Ites |access-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101174453/http://www.rastaites.com/Ethiopia/newyear.htm |archive-date=1 January 2014}}
According to InCultureParent, "after attending church in the morning, families gather to share a traditional meal of injera (flat bread) and wat (sauce). Later in the day, young girls donning new clothes, gather daisies and present friends with a bouquet, singing New Year's songs."{{Cite web | title=Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year): September 11 | url=http://www.incultureparent.com/?p=6806| publisher=InCultureParent | date=7 September 2012 | access-date=29 October 2013 }} According to the Ethiopian Tourism Commission, "Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Modern Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated – in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers."{{Cite web | title=Ethiopian Festivals | author=Ethiopian Tourism Commission | url=http://www.tourismethiopia.org/pages/detail/detailfestival.asp | date=16 November 2002 | access-date=29 October 2013 | archive-date=17 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517120630/http://www.tourismethiopia.org/pages/detail/detailfestival.asp | url-status=dead }}
The Ethiopian counting of years begins in the year 8 of the common era. This is because the common era follows the calculations of Dionysius, a 6th-century monk, while the non-Chalcedonian countries continued to use the calculations of Annianus, a 5th-century monk, which had placed the Annunciation of Christ exactly 8 years later. For this reason, on Enkutatash in the year 2016 of the Gregorian calendar, it became 2009 in the Ethiopian calendar.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110514133745/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-09/11/content_3476228.htm Enkutatash 2005]
{{New Year by Calendar}}
Category:New Year celebrations