Christmas is celebrated in a variety of countries, and they have a plethora of traditions that go along with those countries. Ethiopia is located on the Eastern side of Africa and shares borders with Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan. As the Ethiopian calendar differs slightly from the calendar that many Western countries use, Christmas in Ethiopia takes place on January 7th. The Orthodox church in Ethiopia believes this to be the day of Jesus’ birth, and around this time there are huge cultural celebrations that take place. The majority of the population in Ethiopia are Christian, either protestant or Orthodox, but there is also a large portion that practice Islam. A Holiday similar to Christmas in the Islamic religion is Eid Al-Fitr, which is a huge celebration of giving. This celebration, however, takes place in May rather than December or January.
Ganna is the holiday of Christmas in Ethiopia. If you were to visit Ethiopia during Ganna, you would see them wearing white, and most likely a traditional Netela, which is similar to a shawl. It is white and has woven colors around the border. Like many American Christians do, those celebrating Ganna hold service into the early hours of Christmas Day and continue until the sun comes up.
Leading up to this celebration, those taking part in Ganna fast for forty-three days, eating only one meal a day that does not contain meat, dairy, or eggs. To break fast, Ethiopians have a light meal at daybreak, but eat spicy stew that contains meat, vegetables, and sometimes egg. This stew is served with Injera, which is an Ethiopian flat bread. Many countries do not use utensils when they eat and they utilize their hands, Ethiopians practice this as well.
They eat with their right hand only, and have specific etiquette that they must follow in order to eat in a mannerly way, just like we do.
The celebration of Ganna, is extremely important to Ethiopian culture, and at surface level might feel too different from the American Christmas traditions. When looked at from a different perspective, there are more similarities than you might think. It is important to realize that we are all so much similar than we originally realize.
Each different culture has its own traditions, Italy included. One huge difference between Italian Christmas and American Christmas is that Italians have a witch named La Befana, also known as the Christmas Witch. La Befana is a witch that brings gifts and fills the stockings of little kids. She does this on the Eve of the Feast of the Epiphany. Italians also have Santa Clause for the 24th and 25th. Most families open family presents on Christmas Eve and then open just Santa presents on the 25th. On Christmas Eve, they attend Midnight Mass at their church as well.
For dinner, Italians do not eat meat, but they eat a lot of seafood. In general, they eat around 3-4 course dinners, but on Christmas, some have up to 7. They also have pasta, ravioli, and spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti w/clams). The big and popular Christmas dessert is Panatonea cake. It is a large sweet bread cake; some are really dry in texture, and there are many different types of flavor, fruit being the main one.
Another tradition that is their extravagant and beautiful Nativity scenes. They are known as Presepio.
Usually, they have multiple parts that are handcrafted and painted. In most places, individual parts are purchased and used to create a unique set. The big street where they are sold is the Via Dei Presepi, Naples, Italy. It is a huge street with tons of shops that goes on for miles. It is extremely crowded during the Christmas rush, but it is so beautiful to walk through. Decorations are usually up around December 8th and last until January 6th, through the Feast of the Epiphany.