Melkam Yelidet Beaal!

If my research is correct, my title is the way to say Merry Christmas in Amharic. January 7th is the day that they celebrate Christmas (Gena) in Ethiopia and this is based on the Orthodox calendar. I won't claim to understand their calendar, but I continue to try! They are eight years behind the Gregorian calendar. Gena is Ethiopia's main religious occasion with people going to churches for special ceremonies commemorating Jesus Christ's birthday. We have tried to learn a little bit about how they celebrate Gena and we look forward to sharing this with Will as he gets older! In the meantime, I just had fun dressing him up in one of the traditional outfits that we bought for him and taking a few pictures!

Will says, "Melkam Yelidet Beaal!"I thought I'd show two of my favorite things that I purchased when we were in Ethiopia. I love this nativity scene that was handmade by Ethiopian crafters.

I also loved this piece that portrays the birth of Christ as well. The left side closes and the wood on the outside is beautifully carved.

In the future I hope to learn how to cook some Ethiopian foods and we can have some traditional Ethiopian meals to celebrate Gena!