Community spirit prominent in Ethiopian new year

In Ethiopia and for some in neighboring Eritrea, the first day of the year is not a time for a countdown and watching a ball drop on TV.

Redeate Dessalegn, an Ethiopian law student at Pitt, remembered sitting in the backyard of her home in Addis Ababa. Her brothers and sisters sang together, trying to get the neighbors to come over and celebrate the new year, called Enkutatash.

“Enkutatash is traditionally more for girls than boys, but the boys try to compete for attention anyway, drawing pictures to impress all of the neighbors,” Dessalegn said. 

Wednesday will mark the first day of the Ethiopian month of Meskerem and the start of a new year. Enkutatash, which falls on Sept. 11 each year, is a major holiday in Ethiopia and Eritrea that marks the first day of spring, which in the Horn of Africa coincides with autumn in the United States and Europe. Traditionally, Ethiopians celebrate the holiday by gathering around bonfires and sharing meals together. 

While the teenagers spend time creating artistic or religious tokens, the children seek the attention of the community’s adults. Creativity is rewarded, often with bread or money, according to Dessalegn, who moved to the U.S. when she was 11. 

When Dessalegn celebrated Enkutatash with her five sisters and two brothers, the holiday favored girls. Buhe, a religious holiday that falls on Aug. 21 in the Gregorian, or Western, calendar, is more for boys.

But Dessalegn said that in her home city of Addis Ababa, Ethipoia — the largest city and capital of the African nation — the government organizes a public bonfire for citizens, many of whom do not have the space or financial means to celebrate with their own fires in the crowded city. 

Most Ethiopian people celebrate this holiday at bonfires and spend time with family and friends, according to Abigail Salisbury, who spent time in Ethiopia after she graduated from Pitt’s Law School in 2007.

She said that traditional dancing is also an important part of the celebrations.

“Ethiopia has very distinctive music and a special type of dancing done mostly with the shoulders, and there was a lot of that,” Salisbury said in an email.

Although many people from Ethiopia also celebrate the Western new year, most consider Enkutatash to be the true new year. The two different new years are celebrated very differently in Ethiopia. While Ethiopians typically stay at home with their families during Enkutatash, many celebrate on Jan. 1 by spending time with friends or attending parties. 

Salisbury said that the way Enkutatash is celebrated is fundamentally different from the way Westerners celebrate the first day of the Gregorian calendar year.

“It is similar in that it marks a certain special time of renewal, and it is celebrated communally,” Salisbury said. “However, it also has ties to religion, seasonal changes, and Ethiopian culture that make it different from a secular Western new year.”

Although she’s in Pittsburgh, Dessalegn said she might try to eat traditional Ethiopian cuisine at a local restaurant. The holiday features dishes such as doro wat, a spicy stew with meat and vegetables, and injera, a spongy bread with a slightly sour taste.

The Ethiopian cultural elements of the holiday continue throughout the year, including a focus on sharing, family and community.

Seifu Haileyesus, who is originally from Addis Ababa, owns Tana, an Ethiopian restaurant located in East Liberty. Instead of holding any kind of special celebration, Haileyesus said he’ll go to church Wednesday and then head home to spend the rest of the day with his family.

“My favorite part is seeing all of the rebirth for the New Year,” he said. “Everything seems to be shiny and warm.”