Ethiopia celebrated its new year on 11th which is very different from the rest of the world. Feasts were made in various homes as jubilations went on air. Despite the fight between Tigriyan and Afar, the country did its rituals to welcome a warm new year. What is unique in Ethiopia?
One year Equals 13 months
If a year lasts for 13 months, it means their calendar is far behind the normal one. Yes, when compared to the Western Calendar, Ethiopia is 7 years 8 months behind. On Saturday, they started 2014 as their new year. The country calculates the birth of Jesus in different scenarios.
It was the Catholic Church in 500AD who amended the birth of Jesus Christ. At that moment, Ethiopians did not put that in mind. So it’s in September where their new year comes, during a leap year, it’s on 12 when the spring starts.
The Ethiopian calendar has 12 complete months with 30/31 days each. Then on the last 13th month, it has been 5/6 days varying because of leap years. When we look at the time, it’s indeed different. The day starts at 06:00 am and midnight is six o’clock.
Never colonized
Ethiopia has strong African leadership. Italy invaded the country in 1895 but suffered a mild blow. The European countries had started occupying the rest of Africa. Italy colonized the neighboring countries. Countries like Eritrea had a rough time with ruthless Italians. The Battle of Adwa where one of the Ethiopian leaders got killed was the main fighting region.
Four troops of Italians were defeated in a span of one year. Emperor Haile Selasie formed the ‘Organisation of African Unity’ (OAU) to fight for their own independence. Salasie believed that the liberty of African will have meaning if all the countries gained their independence. Among the first people to get free Ethiopian passport were Nelson Mandela, in 1962. I was Emperor Haile Salasie who taught Nelson Mandela how to fight.
Rastafarians worship Emperor Haile Selassie
Many Jamaicans saw a prophesy come true by Marcus Garvey, who said a king shall be crowned the lad of Blacks. Ras Tafari got leadership at the age of 38 as Haile Selassie. That was the birth of Rastafarian.
There is a small Rastafarian community in Ethiopia, Shashamene on Sellasie land. They supported him against Mussolini. The community believes Haile Sllasia was the Lion of Judah. Rastafarian links his lineage to King Solomon in the Bible.
Serves as Home to the first Muslims outside Arabia
Prophet Muhammed said if one walks to Abyssinia, there is a King who won’t tolerate injustice. A small community in those prophetic days set up a college in the Kingdom of Aksum. They then migrated and are said to be from the current Tigray, settling in the village of Negash. They have one of the oldest mosques in Africa. In that land, the Muslims believes 15 disciples were buried there. According to the statistics, Muslims occupied around 34% of the total Ethiopian population.
These are among the few unique features of Ethiopia. It’s a self-independence country which believes in being extraordinary in its rituals.
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