Tomorrow, September 11, is Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year). For a lot of families, though, the holiday really starts the night before.
That eve is chibo night. A chibo is a bundle of dry sticks tied together and lit as a torch, sometimes built into a small bonfire in the yard. The Amharic word just means that bundle of sticks. The fire is a way of saying goodbye to the long rainy season and welcoming the bright Meskerem days that come after.
People sing, kids practice Abebayehosh, houses get cleaned, and someone is usually already cooking doro wat for New Year lunch. Fresh grass and yellow adey abeba flowers show up for the coffee ceremony.
Chibo also appears at other Ethiopian Orthodox moments like Buhe and Meskel. On Enkutatash eve it has a simple job: burn out the old year and hope the new one comes sunny.
Melkam Addis Amet when morning arrives.
