እንቁጣጣሽ

The thirteenth month of sunshine in Ethiopia, five or six extra days at the end of the year, is a week of preparations for Ethiopians who celebrate the Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash). Ethiopians celebrate New Year according to the Julian calendar which falls on the 11th of September or on the 12th during a leap year.

The Ethiopian New Year is characterized by the end of the long rainy season, a bright sky and a dazzling sunlight. The countryside turns into yellow daisies (adey abeba), which covers the entire fields in rural areas of Ethiopia at this time of the year.

The festival is celebrated with the singing of special songs dedicated for this holiday by girls dressed in traditional clothes and giving the bouquets of flowers (adey abeba), they collected from the fields to each household. In return, the girls often receive a small gift, usually money. On the eve of the New Year, boys gather in groups singing songs that herald about the New Year locally called Hoya Hoye. They sing, moving from house to house and receive gifts usually in the form of money.

The celebration of the Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash, meaning the "Gift of Jewels” is believed to be celebrated since the time of the Queen of Sheba. During her visit to King Solomon of Israel in Jerusalem, the Queen gave gifts to the King with 120 talents of gold (4.5 tons) as well as a large amount of unique spices and jewels, as mentioned in the Bible.