Happy Enkutatash, Ethiopian New Year!
Dear colleagues and friends,
Canada’s population comes from all regions of the world. To encourage you to explore our country’s rich diversity, each month we highlight one important date, event, festival or celebration from the calendar This month, we are pleased to highlight Ethiopian New Year, known as Enkutatash, celebrated on September 11.
The Ethiopian calendar is based on the Julian calendar. Their year consists of 12 months of 30 days each, and a 13th month of five or six timekeeping days. Due to the use of the Julian calendar, the Ethiopian calendar is currently seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian one, used in most areas of the world. That is why the new Ethiopian year is 2018.
Enkutatash marks the end of the rainy season, when the countryside is blooming with wildflowers in celebration of the impending harvest. Enkutatash means the “gift of jewels,” as the celebration is said to refer to the Queen of Sheba returning from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem in 980 BC. According to legend, upon the Queen's arrival back in Ethiopia, her chiefs welcomed her by filling her treasury with enku (jewels).
Today, Enkutatash is both a religious holiday and a celebration. To mark the advent of the New Year, events include three days of prayer, psalms and hymns, and processions of colourful dancing and singing where citizens dress in traditional costumes. Within households, families may gather to share a traditional meal of injera (flat bread) and wat (stew). Later in the day, children gather daisies and present friends or family with a bouquet, singing New Year’s songs. The celebration is also recognized by exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards – in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.
On September 11, you can wish your colleagues and friends of Ethiopian origin a Happy New Year, Happy Enkutatash or Enkuan Aderesachihu!
If you would like that we highlight a cultural event to create awareness about the rich cultural diversity of Canada, please do not hesitate to write to me. That way, we all learn about each other, to promote mutual understanding, respect and collaboration.
Stay safe, stay well!
Respectfully,
Waheed Khan
President, National Consultation Team