I must admit that of all the countries I have visited I love Ethiopia the most. When I was visiting in mid-December it was nice to see Christmas decorations in our hotel lobby even though outside the weather wasn’t typical for what I call a traditional, wintry Christmas. Nevertheless the decorations were nice to see.
Since the hotel catered to many Westerners (I heard French, Dutch, German, and English regularly in the halls and lobby) it’s no surprise that the hotel went the extra mile to make us feel the holiday spirit.
One thing I learned in Ethiopia is they go by an entirely different calendar than we do. In fact, technically in Ethiopia it is the year 2005 if you can wrap your mind around that. Even though the Ethiopian calendar was explained several times to me, I still don’t get it.
On January 7 Ethiopia will celebrate Christmas, which is apparently far different than the holiday we celebrate here. I wish I could be there to see how they celebrate. One day!
Hi, Jennifer.
Thank you for this article. Always loved to learn about other cultures. It is usually very interesting. Now I wanted to know more about the culture and traditions of Ethiopia.
Hi Vanya – I want to travel even more and learn more. This world is so small!
Really small. But amazingly how much more interesting and beautiful have in this small world. I envy your ability to travel.