Rachels Updates-A Little Insight

These are letters from Rachel who moved with her husband in January to Ethiopia to work at the transitional home.

Letter From Rachel
Wednesday April 30
Happy Easter!
April 27 was Ethiopian Easter…so of course we had to celebrate American style and Ethiopian style. American: the children had their first ever Easter egg hunt! A family brought us all the eggs and candy to be able to do this, and it was a blast. The children weren’t sure what was going on, but they knew that candy was involved. No egg was left undiscovered. Ethiopian: Ethiopians fast for 2 months before Easter…no dairy and meat, amongst other things. So, Easter Sunday is celebrated with a huge feast. Many Ethiopians buy a sheep to make their stews and sauces. The TH staff and children enjoyed a special lunch that day. Then we took the older children out for ice cream! Next, on to Fortuna’s (TH nurse & director) for dinner….and ate more sheep.

April 26th
Today is Easter (Fasika) in Ethiopia.
Fasica means Easter in Amharic, which is the official language of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Easter, or Fasica, which takes place in Orthodox Churches throughout the country, follows the eastern method of calculating Easter, and thus tends to fall after Easter in the Western calendar. Fasica is a much more important festival than Christmas, since the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is more significant in Orthodox theology than his birth.
Fasica is a climactic celebration. Fasting becomes more intense over the 56 day period of Lent, when no meat or animal products of any kind, including milk and butter, are eaten. The 56 days of fasting is a symbolic representation of sharing in His sacrifice for all human beings. Good Friday starts off by church going and is a day of preparation for the breaking of this long fasting period. The faithful prostrate themselves in church, bowing down and rising up 101 times. The main religious service takes place with the Paschal Vigil on Saturday night. It is a sombre, sacred occasion with music and dancing until the early hours of the morning. At 3:00 a.m. everyone returns home to break their fast.
Followers celebrate Fasika with intense joy, food, drinks and the exchanging of gifts.
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