Ethiopian Charismas Tours
An Ethiopian Christmas tour offers a unique and deeply spiritual experience, unlike Christmas celebrations in many other parts of the world. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering such a journey:
What is Ethiopian Christmas?
- Name: Ethiopian Christmas is called Genna (or sometimes Lidet).
- Date: It’s celebrated on January 7th (Gregorian calendar), which corresponds to Tahsas 29th in the Ethiopian calendar. This is because the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church follows the ancient Julian calendar. In a leap year, it can fall on January 8th in some places like Lalibela.
- Significance: It’s a major religious holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Key Aspects of an Ethiopian Christmas Tour:
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Fasting Period: Leading up to Genna, devout Orthodox Christians observe a 43-day fast (Tsome Nebiyat or “Fast of the Prophets”) where they abstain from meat, eggs, and dairy products. The feast on Christmas Day marks the end of this fasting period.
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Overnight Church Services: The main celebrations revolve around church services. On Christmas Eve (January 6th), people attend an all-night church mass, often starting in the evening and continuing until the early morning hours of January 7th.
- Atmosphere: These services are deeply moving, with chanting by priests and deacons, accompanied by traditional instruments like drums and sistrums.
- Candlelight Ceremony: At midnight, there’s often a candlelight ceremony to commemorate the birth of Jesus.
- Pilgrims: Thousands of pilgrims, often dressed in traditional white cotton garments (Netela), travel long distances, sometimes on foot, to attend these services.
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Lalibela – The Epicenter:
- Unforgettable Experience: Lalibela, with its incredible rock-hewn churches, is the most famous and highly recommended place to experience Ethiopian Christmas. The atmosphere is truly magical and spiritual as pilgrims gather around and inside the ancient churches.
- Ceremony: You can witness breathtaking processions where priests and deacons, symbolizing angels and shepherds, chant and dance on the cliff edges and in the courtyards of the churches.
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Traditional Food and Drink: After the long night service and the breaking of the fast, families gather for festive meals.
- Doro Wot: A spicy chicken stew, typically served with injera (a sourdough flatbread), is a popular Christmas dish.
- Tej: A traditional honey wine, and other local beverages may also be enjoyed.
- Community: Christmas is primarily a communal and family celebration, with less emphasis on gift-giving compared to Western traditions.
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Genna Game (Yeferas Guks): In some rural areas, a traditional game resembling field hockey, also called “Genna,” is played. Legend says it originated from the shepherds’ joyful reactions to the news of Jesus’ birth.
Details
Lalibela: The highlight for Christmas. Attending the Christmas Eve ceremony and morning festivities at the rock-hewn churches.
Book Well in Advance: January is peak season due to Christmas and Timkat (Epiphany, January 19th). Accommodation, flights, and tour guides fill up quickly.
Arrival Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time make sightseeing in Addis, Visit the National Museum that exhibits numerous antiquates, historical relics, archaeological and pale-ontological objects including the 3.2 million year old skeleton of Lucy; Mercato – biggest open market of its kind in Africa and the commanding panoramic view point Mount Entoto Overnight stay Hotel
You will visit the 3 ancient monastery on the islands lake Tana (by boat) after lunch break you will drive 35km from Bahr Dar and half hour trekking you will to see the fascinating gorge of blue Nile falls. Overnight stay in Bahr Dar
Explore the royal enclosure which contains several stone-built castles of different emperors. The most impressive building is Fasilidas castle. He was the emperor who established Gonder as a powerful cultural and religious center at 16th century. Overnight stay in Gonder
In the morning you will drive from Gonder to Simyen Mountain the Semen national park is registered as a UNESCO world heritage site. The highest mountain in Ethiopia Ras Dashen is also found in the semen national park. The park is home of mountainous and wild animal species like the Walya Ibex and chelada baboon which are endemic in Ethiopia. This is an ideal place to do some trekking to the most beautiful place with panoramic views overnight stay in semen lodge
Visit the 1st group of King Lalibela’s rock hewn churches (12th century). During the night Christmas Eve celebration continues in the churches in the presence of many white-robed worshipers. If you are keen at the expense of your bed time, you may participate in one of the churches’ celebration. Overnight Hotel.
Therefore, you have the chance to attend the colourful celebration, which takes place in and around the compound of Virgin Mary’s church. Here, there will be breathtaking chant and dance of a multitude of Lalibela priests. In the afternoon you will visit the second group of King Lalibela’s rock hewn churches (World Heritage Site). Overnight Hotel. Overnight stay Hotel
Full day visit historic sites it was once the capital of the Ethiopian kings and the oldest ancient civilization in the world and represented a connecting-point b/n Africa and Asia for almost a thousand year. Some of the archaeological sites can give you an idea of the former high standard of civilization. Visit the famous steles, see the churches of St. Mary of Zion, which contain the crowns of Ethiopian kings and other treasures and the tomb of king Kaleb. Overnight stay Hotel
Fly back to Addis Ababa. . Have a farewell dinner at one of the best traditional restaurants of Addis where you can taste the variety of Ethiopian meals, and see the folkloric dances of the Ethiopians. Then, be transferred to the airport for your departure. End Tour
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