The Nyahbinghi National Council. N.N.C (uk) 

SPONSORED BY: Qidamawi Emperor Haile Selassie 1st

 and Guermawi Empress Menen of Ethiopia

 In Association Withl's,  Congo Rockey, Congo Tawney, Bongo tto, etc, etc.

and their Kweens who stood firmly next to these Mighty warriors.

 Invites ones & ones to

 Celebrate:

 Genna (Ethiopian Christmas)

Friday 7th January 2011

 From 9pm Til Iwah

 @ The Theorem Music Centre

 385 High Road Willesden

 London, NW10    2JR 

 ~~~~~~~~See attached for more!~~~~~~~~~

The Ithiopian Calendar is seven years behind the Gregorian Calendar now used in the west.  Ethiopia, having never been colonised, still uses the Julian Calendar. The year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each, and a 13th month of five days (six days every leap year).  See the New Year page for more information about the measurement of time.

Ithiopian Christmas day is on January 7th of the Gregorian Calendar or Tahsas 29th of the Ithiopian Calendar. This is the date that Christmas was originally celebrated and still is in most Orthodox Christian troditions.

Ithiopian names for Christmas are Lidet, Genna and also Qiddus Bala Wald.

Genna is preceded by a fast of 40 days. There are many fast days in the Orthodox Christian Calendar. Christians fast every Wednesday and Friday all year round. On fast days Ethiopians eat only one meal in the evening. This must not contain meat or dairy foods. Sometimes fish is also avoided.

After a large meal on Christmas Eve, Ithiopian Christians go to Church and spend the night praying. Modern Churches are designed in three concentric circles. Men and boys sit separately from women and girls. The choir sings from the outside circle. As the people enter the church they are given candles which are then lit. Everyone then walks around the church three times. The congregation remain standing for Mass which can last up to three hours.

Food eaten at Christmas is the standard Ithiopian menu of injera, a pancake like bread made from a local grain called t'ef, and wat, a spicy stew. The injera is used to scoop up the wat. The meal is served in beautifully decorated baskets.

Only the children receive presents. This is usually something simple such as clothes. Children also play a game at this time of year called Genna. It  is similar to hockey. 

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie words on the importance of Christmas

Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash)

Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 13 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days and 6 days in leap year. The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September 11 and January 8.

Enkutatash means 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 bolts by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside.

But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated - in lieu or the traditional bouquet of flowers.

 Epiphany (Timket)

Timket, feast of Epiphany is the greatest festival of the year falling on the 19 January just two weeks after the Ethiopian Christmas. It is actually a three-day affair beginning on the eve of Timket with dramatic and colourful processions. The following morning the great day itself, Christ's baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist is commemorated. Since October and the end of the rains, the country has been drying up steadily. The sun blazes down from a clear blue sky and the festival of Timket always takes place in glorious weather.

Ethiopian Christmas (Genna)

Christmas, called Lidet, is not the primary religious and secular festival that it has become in Western countries. Falling on 7th January, it is celebrated seriously by a church service that goes on throughout the night, with people moving from one church to another. Traditionally, young men played a game similar to hockey, called genna, on this day, and now Christmas has also come to be known by that name.

 Finding of the True Cross (Meskal)

Meskal has been celebrated in the country for over 1600 years. The word actually means "cross" and the feast commemorates the discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. The original event took place on 19 March 326 AD. but the feast is now celebrated on 27 September.

Many of the rites observed throughout the festival are said to be directly connected to the legend of Empress Helena. On the eve of Meskal, tall branches are tied together and yellow daisies, popularly called Meskal Flowers, are placed at the top. During the night those branches are gathered together in front of the compound gates and ignited - This symbolizes the actions of the Empress who, when no one would show the Holy Sepulcher, lit incense and prayed for help. Where the smoke drifted, she dug and found three roses. To one of the three, on the True Cross of Jesus, many miracles were attributed.

Meskal also signifies the physical presence of part of the True Cross at the church of Egziabher Ab, the remote mountain monastery of Gishen Mariam located 483 kms north of Addis Ababa in Wello administrative zone. In this monastery, there is a massive volume called the Tefut written during the reign of Zera Yacob (1434 - 1468), which records the story of how a fragment of the cross was acquired.

During this time of the year flowers gloom on mountain and plain and the meadows are yellow with the brilliant Meskal daisy. Dancing, feasting, merrymaking, bonfires and even gun salutes mark the occasion. The festival begins by planting a green tree on Meskal eve in town squares and village market places. Everyone brings a pole topped with Meskal daisies to form the towering pyramid that will be a beacon of flame. Torches of tree branches tied up together called "Chibo" are used to light the bundle called "Demera".

OneNess in that Rich BlkAfrikan Blessings 

RAs Paulos "Levi" Tafari (Flames of Jupiter, Child of Light).

Media/Public Relation Committee, Council of Elders, and Working Committee Rep., N.N.C (uk).

Mbl: 07814 877 246      

Skype: flames.of.jupiter

Skype Mobile: ras.paulos8

Genna 2011.pdf