Ethiopian New Year!!

Today is the Ethiopian New Year = Addis Amet and is also referred toas Enkutatash = gift of jewels (Enku is jewel).Enkutatash is celebrated on September 11th. Ethiopia follows theOrthodox Julian calendar (7 years behind the Gregorian calendar) whichconsists of 12 months of 30 days and a 13th month of five or six daysdepending on the leap year. The years run in a four year cycle bearingthe names of the Gospels, Mark (Markos), Mathew (Matheos), Luke(Lukas) and John (Yohannes). A very formal new year's greeting will be"Thanks to God for our making it through the year of X to the year ofY (e.g. from the year of Markos to the year of Matheos).So today is Meskerem 1, 2001 and is the start of spring ending the 3months of the rainy season. All the fields in the high lands of Ethiopia will be filled with the yellow daisies (Meskal flowers) which are typically called "ye Adey Abeba' or "ye Meskal Abeba".

'Enkutatash' - Ethiopian New Year
The Ethiopian New Year falls in September at the end of the big rains. The sun comes out to shine all day long creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh clean air. The highlands turn to gold as the Meskel daisies burst out in all their splendour. Ethiopian children clad in brand new clothes dance through the villages giving bouquets of flowers and painted pictures to each household.
September 11th is both New Year's Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatash meaning the "gift of jewels." When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses.
The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar Region. Three days of prayers, psalms, and hymns, sermons, and massive colourful processions mark the advent of the New Year. Closer to Addis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on top of the Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular religious celebration. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday, and the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers in the fields convey the message of springtime and renewed life. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.