 The Ethiopian calendar is seven years different than the western calendar. It is 1990 in our calendar and 1997 here. Our New Year falls on September 12. We call it Meskerem. We do a lot of things on our New Years Eve. The boys and girls sing songs for their neighbourhood, and they get a lot of money. After 15 days of our New Year, there is another holiday called Mescal. This means the true cross, which is found in Ethiopia. This holiday is a big day for Ethiopian people. We celebrate with the fire. After the celebration of the midnight, people touch the ash or the coal. Then they put the sign of the cross on their face. Our Christmas is on January 7th. After our Christmas, we fast 56 days before Easter. The fasting ends at 3:00 a.m. The church service begins at midnight on Easter Sunday. During our fasting days, we don’t drink milk or eat egg and beef products. We also fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. |