top of page

                                                                                                                                FESTIVAL


Saints’ days and other festivals have not been imposed by any law of God, they were established by the church herself. Some go back to apostolic times and others are later origin. There is a prodigious number of feasts in the Ethiopian Church. The principal feasts of the church are nine feasts of the Lord, thirty three feasts of our Lady, the feasts of the Apostles, Sunday, Saturday, the feasts of the Angels, the feasts of the righteous (saints) and the feasts of the martyrs.

 

The feasts of our Lord are divided into 9 major and 9 minor feasts. Major feasts are:


1. His conception
2. Christmas
3. Epiphany
4. Transfiguration
5. Palm Sunday or hosanna
6. Good Friday
7. Easter
8. Ascension
9. Pentecost

 

Minor feasts are:


1. Sibket, the feast to commemorate the preaching of the prophets that Messiah will come to redeem His people from bondage;
2. Brahan, the feast to commemorate the fact of our Lord having come into the world for its enlightenment;
3. Nolwae, the feast of our Lord as “Good shepherd”;
4. Gena, the feast to commemorate the reality that our Lord was actually born, not a mythical phenomenon;
5. Gizret, circumcision;
6. Kana ze Galilee, (feast of Kana of Galilee) when the Lord turned water into wine;
7. Debra zeit, it is held that the Second Advent will take place on the Mount of Olives. A day is kept on which the faithful offer special prayers that they may be righteous on that solemn event and on the right side of the Supreme Judge;
8. Megabit Meskel;
9. Ledete Simon, this is the feast to commemorate the event when a woman sinner (Mary Magdalene) washed the feet of the Lord with her tears and anointed them with ointment. Simon who had invited Jesus complained but the Lord made things clear to him.

 

The 33 feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary are as follows:

​

1. The day in which she was conceived.
2. Her Nativity.
3. The day when she was taken to the temple there to stay for some time (Her presentation).
4. The feast on which she conceived Christ.
5. Flight to Egypt.
6. Commemoration of the day when she was thirsty, her son commanded the rock and water came forth with which she quenched her thirst.
7. The day of promise on which her son assured her that for her sake He would in future have mercy upon sinners.
8. The sleeping of Mary (Asterio Mariam).
9. Assumption (Filseta), which is celebrated for 16 days, counted each as a separate feast.
10. The day when after her death she was revealed to all appeared to all for the first time.
11. Second time appearance to others.
12. Third time appearance.
13. Fourth time appearance.
14. Fifth time appearance.
15. We have twelve feasts a year when once a month on 21st day we commemorate her death or birth in heaven and this makes it 31 feasts in all up to now.
16. The 32nd feast is that of the day when a result of infidel with a blow hitting the icon, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, blood flew copiously from the image.
17. The 33rd feast is that of the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The death of our Lady is commemorated on January 21, Ethiopic Calendar, 16 Jan. in Western reckoning and apparently by reason of this the 21st of each Ethiopian month is dedicated to the Virgin. Nativity is on May 1 (April 26 in Western reckoning and September 10 (7 in West. Reckoning); her burial on August 15 (8 in West. Reckoning); Assumption on August 16 (9 west reckoning); her Presentation on December 3 (Nov.29 in West reckoning); her Conception on December 16 (12 December in West. reckoning).

 

We thus have the following as our Lady’s major feasts:


- Conception
- Nativity
- Presentation
- Conceived of the Lord
- Flight into Egypt
- Death of our Lady
- Assumption
- Appearance

The feast of Kidane Mehret (Covenant of Mercy) is a day which honours the merciful power of St. Mary the blessed Mother. It is kept on Yekatit 16 in Ethiopian Calendar (Feb.24 Gregorian calendar).

 

The feasts which come each month during the are: Trinity, the 7th of each month; Michael the Archangel, the 12t of each month; the Covenant of Mercy, the 16th of each month; the Holy Virgin Assumption, the 21st of each month; the Death of Our Lord, the 27th of each month; and the birth of Christ, the 29th of each month.

 

Every Christian has a patron saint and each family has its patron saint whose anniversary is commemorated from father to son. The patron most in vogue are: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Gabriel, St. George, the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, Tekla Haimanot, Gebre Menfese Kidus, St. Petros etc.

 

The book Senksar is the calendar which contains a list of saints to be commemorated daily and their brief history. There are many holy martyrs and confessors who are remembered. The angels hold a high place in the church. They protect homes, Churches, palaces and all places of importance. Chiefs among them are St. Michael and St. Gabriel.

Some feasts are national and religious at the same time. These are:

- Christmas – Tahsas 29th E.C (7th January)
- Epiphany – Ter 11th E.C (19th January)
- St. Michael– Ter 12th E.C (20th January)
- Good Friday
- Easter
- Feast of Assumption—Nehassie 16th E.C (22nd August)
- Finding of the truth Cross- Maskaram 17th E.C (27th September)

bottom of page