Ethiopia Welcomes 2018: A Vibrant New Year Celebration

Sat Sep 13 2025 12:25:08 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Ethiopia celebrates its New Year, 2018, with vibrant festivities unique to its calendar. Join the celebrations and discover the cultural significance behind this remarkable event.

Ethiopia ushers in 2018 according to its own unique calendar, celebrated with vibrant festivities across the country. The unusual calendar system positions Ethiopia seven years behind the Gregorian calendar, marking the start of a season for renewal and joy. Traditional offerings, lively markets, and cultural performances characterize the celebrations, bringing communities together to embrace the promise of the new year.

Ethiopia is celebrating the start of its new year - 2018. The country has its own unique calendar, meaning it is seven years behind the Western calendar.

These yellow adey ababa blooms are associated with the celebration. They grow wild around the capital, Addis Ababa, at this time of year. Small bunches have been selling for around 50 Ethiopian birr ($0.35; £0.25).

The seven-year gap comes down to the fact that the birth year of Jesus Christ is calculated differently in Ethiopia. When the Catholic Church amended its calculation in 500 AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not.

But the celebrations - known as Enkutatash - are not tied to the church, and for everyone in the country, it is a time to celebrate. Vendors in Addis Ababa come in from the countryside to sell adey ababa and also freshly cut grass - both of which are used during traditional coffee ceremonies.

The birthplace of coffee is widely considered to have been in the highlands of Ethiopia. The grass and flowers are used as decoration for the ceremonies during which the beans are roasted over an open fire, ground, and then brewed in a clay pot.

Shopping areas, including the market of Addisu Gebeya, were heaving in Addis Ababa on New Year's Eve, despite the rain - as people rushed to prepare for the celebrations.

This year there has been a greater sense of unity and pride as the week began with the formal launch of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), built on a tributary of the River Nile. Families tend to gather and invite friends to join them for a meal either at lunch or in the evening.

On New Year's Day morning, a traditional song known as "Abebayehosh" is heard around the city - usually performed by young girls for passers-by. In some neighborhoods, they go door-to-door. Orthodox Christians continue in that spirit later in the day with church services.

People in Ethiopia have no difficulty switching between the two calendars - when they talk in local languages the year is 2018, but in English, they automatically jump forward to 2025.

As the Ethiopian New Year unfolds, the air is filled with hope for the future and communal joy marking the beginning of a new chapter.