We celebrated the Ethiopian Christmas yesterday with Zena and Rahel and their families. It was so cool to be able to be a part of their private celebrations and to experience an authentic Ethiopian holiday. We will never forget this special day.
We picked up a traditional Christmas dress for Anne a couple of days ago (I thought that I would look like a goof if I wore mine, but I did buy one for home). First, we visited Rahel's mother's home and she had a large spread of food. She had to start very early in the morning because Christmas Eve was a fasting day and she couldn't handle meat or dairy. All of the cooking had to be done on Christmas morning. We had the freshest meat we'd ever eaten. The goat and chicken had been slaughtered hours before! She also made a few homemade wines and beverages that we tried. They were so strong! I just took a sip of each. Whew! After the meal there was a coffee ceremony and Annie and Tiana played in the yard.
We brought gifts for Zena, Rahel, and Tiana and a tiramisu cake for Rahel's mom and they said, "No! No! We do not do gifts for Ethiopian Christmas!" To which I said, "But we're Americans so we had to bring some of our culture too." They laughed and accepted the gifts.
Next we visited Zena's mother's home and ate another huge meal! It was similar to US holidays in that there was a ton of food. Most Ethiopians aren't able to have so much food on holidays. They're lucky if they can afford a chicken. Both families that we were with are well-off for Ethiopia. We had cake and another coffee ceremony. People mainly sat around talking and spending time together. All of the grandchildren on Zena's side were girls, so Annie and Tiana had a great time playing with them and blowing up balloons.
Then we headed back to the transition house to spend time with Sophia. Most of the kids were dressed in white and were playing games out in the courtyard. We had such a lovely day! Melkam Genna!
We picked up a traditional Christmas dress for Anne a couple of days ago (I thought that I would look like a goof if I wore mine, but I did buy one for home). First, we visited Rahel's mother's home and she had a large spread of food. She had to start very early in the morning because Christmas Eve was a fasting day and she couldn't handle meat or dairy. All of the cooking had to be done on Christmas morning. We had the freshest meat we'd ever eaten. The goat and chicken had been slaughtered hours before! She also made a few homemade wines and beverages that we tried. They were so strong! I just took a sip of each. Whew! After the meal there was a coffee ceremony and Annie and Tiana played in the yard.
We brought gifts for Zena, Rahel, and Tiana and a tiramisu cake for Rahel's mom and they said, "No! No! We do not do gifts for Ethiopian Christmas!" To which I said, "But we're Americans so we had to bring some of our culture too." They laughed and accepted the gifts.
Next we visited Zena's mother's home and ate another huge meal! It was similar to US holidays in that there was a ton of food. Most Ethiopians aren't able to have so much food on holidays. They're lucky if they can afford a chicken. Both families that we were with are well-off for Ethiopia. We had cake and another coffee ceremony. People mainly sat around talking and spending time together. All of the grandchildren on Zena's side were girls, so Annie and Tiana had a great time playing with them and blowing up balloons.
Then we headed back to the transition house to spend time with Sophia. Most of the kids were dressed in white and were playing games out in the courtyard. We had such a lovely day! Melkam Genna!
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