Ge'ez CalendarWhat is Genna?
Genna (ገና), also called Ledet (ልደት, “birth”), is Christmas in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches. It celebrates the birth of Jesus and is one of the nine major feasts of the church. In Ethiopia it is a national public holiday, and in the diaspora churches hold their main service on the night before.
Why is Ethiopian Christmas on January 7?
Genna is on Tahsas 29 in the Ethiopian calendar, which matches January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. In the year after an Ethiopian leap year, Tahsas 29 would fall on January 8, so the church celebrates on Tahsas 28 instead and Genna stays on January 7. The same date is used by other Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar, where December 25 also falls on January 7.
The fast before Genna
Genna ends Tsome Nebiyat, the Fast of the Prophets, which starts on Hidar 15 (late November). During the fast, observant Christians eat no meat, eggs or dairy. It is broken after the Christmas service, usually with doro wat (spicy chicken stew), injera and eggs. See the fasting calendar for this year’s dates.
How Genna is celebrated
- Night service. On Christmas Eve the faithful, dressed in white (a netela shawl for women, a gabi for men), go to church for a service that lasts most of the night and ends at dawn. Many hold candles through the service.
- Lalibela. Thousands of pilgrims travel to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, where priests sing and dance in a celebration that draws visitors from around the world.
- The game of genna. Young men traditionally play genna, a game like field hockey with curved sticks and a wooden ball. Legend says shepherds played it when they heard of the birth of Christ.
- Family meal. After church, families gather for the first meal with meat after weeks of fasting. Gifts are modest; the day is about church, food and family.
Genna in the diaspora
In the US, Europe and the Middle East, Ethiopian and Eritrean churches hold the Christmas Eve service on the night of January 6, even when January 7 is a working day. Many families take the day off or celebrate on the nearest weekend. Use the table above to see which weekday Genna falls on in the coming years.