Zahara’s Christmas
Angelina has recently been quoted (many many times) as saying: “Zahara’s Christmas is January 8. With Maddox, it is the water festivals in Buddhism. We’re getting into all that with them.? I put my amateur sleuthing to work in order to find out more about Z’s Christmas I’ll cover Mad’s water festival on a later date)… and here’s what I’ve found:
The Ethiopian Christmas is celebrated on January 7th (not 8th as AJ suggested unless the Christmas in question is a holiday other than the Ethiopian Christmas).
“Christmas is a major holiday in Ethiopia where more than half of the
population is Orthodox Christian. The celebrations occur January
7, the Feast of the Epiphany, instead of December 25.”
You must have a manger scene that includes the Three Kings (Magi) (legend has it that the king bearing frankincense was King Balthazar of Ethiopia), you will also need frankincense oil to burn throughout the holiday (it is acceptable to mix the frankincense with other things to create a different scent).
Attendance at a Christian Orthodox is the norm for an Ethiopian service, but men and woman will probably have to sit separate. Church services can last up-wards of 3 hours. It is not uncommon to attend more than one service at more than one church.
The Christmas meal usually includes a spicy chicken stew (Doro Wat), flat round bread (Injera) and wine or beer. The bread is used to scoop and eat the food and utensils are not used.
The Christmas meal is followed by the purchase and slaughter of an animal (typically a goat or cow).
During the Christmas celebration, children customarily play a form of field hockey, called ganna. The game is played by two teams and the stick (with hooks on one end) and ball are made from locally grown trees.
Gift giving and Christmas trees are not usually a part of the Ethiopian Christmas.
I’m going to hope that the Jolie-Pitt clan will skip the slaughtering on an animal this holiday season.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:21 pm
The Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on both December 25th and January 7th — it depends by each country. I was raised in the Orthodox Christian religion and celebrate the Christmas on 12.25, but people in Russia do celebrate it on January 7th.
Traditions differ from country to country, but the Orthodox churches have a similar architecture anywhere in the world.
It is true (and cruel… as I am a vegetarian)… animals are slaughtered and there’s a feast for a few weeks before Christmas.
We always had Christmas trees… so this is probably available for Ethiopia… as they haven’t replaced the pine with another tree.
It shouldn’t be difficult for Angie to follow the customs, as the Orthodox religion is similar with the Catholic.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
I think angie is so down to earth and I love that about her,so I Know that she wont have any problem with Z’ christmas tradition,you should watch her videos in kenya, she is so good with every human being, she is so respectful Thanks angie for showing the world how people can treat each other poor or rich, love you