… and a happy ENKUTATASH to you too! …

INTRODUCTION:

Life in Ethiopia revolves around its own ancient calendar. It is the “sidereal” calendar, similar to the Coptic Egyptian calendar, but not quite! Sidereal time is a time-keeping system that astronomers use, based on the earth’s rate of rotation measured relative to the fixed stars.

MONTHS:

The names of the months are in Ge’ez, the orthodox language of the Ethiopian Church. There are 13 months in the Ethiopian calendar, 12 months have 30 days each, and the 13th month will have 5 days in a normal year, and 6 days every 4th year (leap year). 

YEAR END:

The year ended this year (2014) on the 10th September, but will differ every year, depending on the leap years. The first day of the Ethiopian year this year (2014 our time) was  “our” September 11th. However it is important to note that there is a 7 year 8 month gap between the Ethiopian calendar and the Gregorian calendar. So our 2014 for example is their 2007! 

NEW YEAR:

There is a wonderful celebration, combining a national and a liturgical holiday all in one: the end of the year symbolizes the end of the rains, a new year and a new harvest. This celebration takes place in the Meskel Square, in the middle of town. It is an annual religious holiday and the Ethiopian Orthodox church commemorates the discovery of the “true cross” by St Helena. The belief is that she had a dream about the location of the true cross of Christ was, and she made a fire of wood and frankincense and the smoke rose and then returned to earth exactly where the cross lay.  So this 1600 year old tradition is still celebrated today.

FLOWERS AND BONFIRES:

The Meskel flower, after which the festival is named, is a bright, yellow wildflower, that grows prolifically in the highland countryside, after the monsoon rains. They are like carpets of vibrant cheerfulness, mile and after mile after mile of them! For the celebration, flowers are picked and bonfire sticks and twigs are gathered. At the main Meskel square in town, a huge bonfire is made, decorated with the yellow flowers and in many homes, a similar yet smaller version is made for the family, to be lit once people return home after the ceremony in the main square. On the day of this celebration, it appears that every person walking the roads back to their homes is carrying one armful of these happy flowers and the other filled with firewood! Everyone seems animated and excited, looking forward to the ceremony.

WHICH WAY WILL IT FALL?

From mid-day, crowds mostly dressed in the white national dress, start to enter the square, vying for the best places for the best view of the choirs and the fire. As the day draws to a close, an elaborate ceremony is held in the square, with many and various choirs singing and swaying as they parade close to the waiting bonfire (Demera). As it comes closer to the setting of the sun, the square is packed (literally shoulder to shoulder) with people and the excitement and tension is palpable. With the final procession complete the crowds happily light their hand-held locally designed candles (which are brilliant and don’t drip!): watching the candles light up around the square is a truly spiritual experience. And then finally the huge bonfire is lit, amidst great cheering and whistling from the immense crowd. Within the bonfire is a cross and which way it falls is said to predict the year ahead. Luckily this year, it fell the “right” way, and people left happily and content, believing they could look forward to a good and fruitful year, with good harvests and good rain. 

BACK HOME AGAIN:

Many families then return to their own homes and light their “mini” versions of the huge Demera, and have an evening of singing and celebration: another year has begun.

Introducing ETHIOPIA... Coffee: an occasion and never ever instant!!

THE BACKGROUND:
Coffee, that glorious enriching beverage, had its origins in Ethiopia, through a
young goat herder! Now, many years later, Ethiopia is a country rich in coffee
growth, production, export and of course drinking. Of the apparently 4 million bags
of coffee that are produced in Ethiopia annually, 40% of it remains in the country
to be drunk usually in a delightful coffee ceremony.

THE CEREMONY:
There is a 3 times a day ritual that happens in every home, every day. It is
uniquely Ethiopian, a unique aspect of daily life, and a slow, elaborate social
gathering. It is the coffee ceremony! 
It takes at least half an hour, and even up to 2 hours I am told, and begins with
the raw, green coffee beans and ends with the drinking of the 3rd cup of "blessed"
coffee, all of this in an aromatic, rich atmosphere.

THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS:
1. a wife/mother/female figure, usually attired in traditional dress: white,
cotton, flowing dress with a border of bright colour.
2. cut grass, which is laid on the floor in front of the coffee station, and gives a
lovely aroma, which increases as people walk over and across it
3. enough raw coffee beans for the number of people present 
4. charcoal fire (which is usually placed within a little "cupboard", behind which
the woman presides and orchestrates this lovely ritual)
5. the classic clay round bottomed coffee pot, with a long graceful neck and a small
handle
6.  tiny little cups and saucers (one for each person)
7.  sugar (usually 1 or 2 teaspoons in each cup)
8. a little brazier type frying pan (to roast the beans over the fire)
9.  an incense holder and incense (usually frankincense)
10. a wooden pestle and mortar with which to pound the beans
11. popcorn: this is the usual "snack" that will be eaten with the coffee, usually
with a little sugar sprinkled on it.
NOTE: Ethiopian coffee is traditionally drunk black, so milk is not usually
available, and people will looked shocked if you ask for it!!

LET THE CEREMONY BEGIN:
With great style and almost balletic fluidity, the gracefully dressed woman will sit
behind her coffee station, on a small stool, with the charcoal ready to go, and
begin the process by roasting the green beans. When they are done, she will bring
the fragrant steaming brazier to each person, allowing each to have a first smell of
the glorious brew which is to follow. Each person will smell, even use a hand to
direct the aroma towards the nose, and make happy comments about how good it is!
Next is the boiling of the water. While this is happening, she will pound the coffee
beans into grounds. When the water is ready, she will add alarmingly many heaped
teaspoons of the coffee into the thin necked coffee pot. This is then returned to
the coals to boil up twice again.
In the meantime she will get the popcorn ready, and make sure that the incense is
burning nicely on its little stand, pouring out yet more fragrance into the room.
and keeping bugs at bay!

Once the coffee is ready, she might put a "strainer" in the outlet to prevent bits
of the coffee beans being poured in the cups.
She will then put the sugar in the teeny cups, and begin pouring: the cups are all
lined up, clean and waiting. She will hold the coffee pot fairly high, and pour in
one continuous stream. This will cause a small amount of spillage in your saucer:
this is normal and expected, so don't let it worry you!
You will have your cup given to you, so sit back, and enjoy cup number one of the
rich, thick, hot brew.

This will then be repeated, slightly weaker, with cup number 2, and again, slightly
weaker yet with cup number 3. If you can make it to number 3, you will be blessed,
as this is the cup of blessing!

SIT AND ENJOY:
This is not to be rushed, but enjoy the fragrant ritual, and slowly sip the brews
and enjoy the popcorn. For Ethiopians, this usually happens 3 times a day, and is a
time when people gather and chat about life in all its forms. It is a gesture of
respect and friendship and to be invited into someone's home is indeed an honour.

Once you have experienced this, our usual quick, instant, on the go coffee just does
not make the grade!