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Enkutatash

Ethiopian and Eritrean New Year holiday

Field	Value
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
scheduling	same day each year according to Ethiopian calendar
duration	1 day
frequency	Annual
date2026	11 September
celebrations	{{plainlist
relatedto	New Year's Day
weekday		firsttime=	month=	alt=	ends=	begins=	litcolor=	official_name=	startedby=

እንቁጣጣሽ

Ethiopia
Eritrea}}
11 September
12 September (leap year)}}
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.}} Enkutatash (Ge'ez: እንቁጣጣሽ) is a New Year holiday in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is celebrated 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’’.

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.

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." 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."

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, for example, it became 2009 in the Ethiopian calendar.

References

(2014). "The Source of the Blue Nile: Water Rituals and Traditions in the Lake Tana Region". Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
"Time and dates in Ithiopia [sic]". Rasta Ites.
(7 September 2012). "Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year): September 11". InCultureParent.
Ethiopian Tourism Commission. (16 November 2002). "Ethiopian Festivals".

Info: Wikipedia Source

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culture-of-ethiopia new-year-celebrations public-holidays-in-ethiopia september-observances

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