My son's sixth grade social studies assignment, a power point presentation on a celebration from another country. He chose Genna in honor of his little brother.
2. When and Why
Ethiopian Christmas is always celebrated on January 7th
(according to the Gregorian calendar).
Ethiopian Christmas is a celebration of Christ’s birth, also
known as Genna.
3. Customs
Prior to Genna, people fast for up to 43 days.
After dressing, everyone goes to church for an early morning
mass at as early as 4:00am.
After the mass, people go home to feast.
Also, around the time of Genna, men and boys play a game
that is also called genna. It is played kind of like hockey, and is
played with a curved stick and a round wooden ball.
Ethiopian Christmas does not feature gifts.
Also, they burn frankincense in recognition of one of the Three
Kings.
5. Food
Among the traditional food eaten on Genna, they eat doro
wat (a traditional spicy stew that consists of chicken,
vegetables, and sometimes also egg), injera (a thin,
pancake-like sourdough bread used as an edible dish and
utensil), and tej (a honey wine).
7. Clothing
During Genna, Ethiopians dress in white, and most wear
a traditional shamma, which is a thin white cotton wrap
with brightly colored stripes across the ends and it is
worn kind of like a toga. Urban Ethiopians might choose
to wear white Western clothes.
9. History
Christianity (and Christmas) have been a part of Ethiopia since
around 330 A.D.
As with Christmas around the world, Ethiopian Christmas
started out as a celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, and
Ethiopian Christmas still is.
The game genna is believed to have been played by shepherds
when they heard of Jesus’s birth.
Orthodox Ethiopians believe that one of the Three Kings who
brought gifts to Jesus’s birth was Balthazar from Ethiopia. The
gift he is believed to have brought was frankincense. This is
why one of the customs for Genna is burning frankincense.
