Public holidays in Ethiopia, 2019 and 2020 E.C.
መጪው በዓል
ሐሙስ ታህሳስ 29
ገና
Upcoming Ethiopian holiday
Thursday January 7
Christmas
የ2019 እና የ2020 ዓ.ም. በዓላት Public holidays, 2019 and 2020 E.C.
| ዓርብ መስከረም 1/ 2019 Friday September 11, 2026 | እንቁጣጣሽ New Year |
| እሁድ መስከረም 17/ 2019 Sunday September 27, 2026 | መስቀል Finding of the True Cross |
| ሐሙስ ታህሳስ 29/ 2019 Thursday January 7, 2027 | ገና Christmas |
| ማክሰኞ ጥር 11/ 2019 Tuesday January 19, 2027 | ጥምቀት Epiphany |
| ማክሰኞ የካቲት 23/ 2019 Tuesday March 2, 2027 | አድዋ ድል ቀን Adwa |
| ማክሰኞ የካቲት 30/ 2019 Tuesday March 9, 2027 | ኢድ አልፈጥር (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Eid al-Fitr (Tentative) |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 22/ 2019 Friday April 30, 2027 | ስቅለት Good Friday |
| ቅዳሜ ሚያዝያ 23/ 2019 Saturday May 1, 2027 | የላብ አደሮች ቀን Labour Day |
| እሁድ ሚያዝያ 24/ 2019 Sunday May 2, 2027 | ፋሲካ Easter |
| ዕሮብ ሚያዝያ 27/ 2019 Wednesday May 5, 2027 | የአርበኞች ቀን Patriots' Day |
| እሁድ ግንቦት 8/ 2019 Sunday May 16, 2027 | አረፋ (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Eid al-Adha (Tentative) |
| ዓርብ ግንቦት 20/ 2019 Friday May 28, 2027 | ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን National Day |
| ቅዳሜ ነሐሴ 8/ 2019 Saturday August 14, 2027 | መውሊድ (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Tentative) |
| እሁድ መስከረም 1/ 2020 Sunday September 12, 2027 | እንቁጣጣሽ New Year |
| ማክሰኞ መስከረም 17/ 2020 Tuesday September 28, 2027 | መስቀል Finding of the True Cross |
| ዓርብ ታህሳስ 28/ 2020 Friday January 7, 2028 | ገና Christmas |
| ሐሙስ ጥር 11/ 2020 Thursday January 20, 2028 | ጥምቀት Epiphany |
| ቅዳሜ የካቲት 18/ 2020 Saturday February 26, 2028 | ኢድ አልፈጥር (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Eid al-Fitr (Tentative) |
| ሐሙስ የካቲት 23/ 2020 Thursday March 2, 2028 | አድዋ ድል ቀን Adwa |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 6/ 2020 Friday April 14, 2028 | ስቅለት Good Friday |
| እሁድ ሚያዝያ 8/ 2020 Sunday April 16, 2028 | ፋሲካ Easter |
| ሰኞ ሚያዝያ 23/ 2020 Monday May 1, 2028 | የላብ አደሮች ቀን Labour Day |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 27/ 2020 Friday May 5, 2028 | የአርበኞች ቀን Patriots' Day |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 27/ 2020 Friday May 5, 2028 | አረፋ (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Eid al-Adha (Tentative) |
| እሁድ ግንቦት 20/ 2020 Sunday May 28, 2028 | ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን National Day |
| ሐሙስ ሐምሌ 27/ 2020 Thursday August 3, 2028 | መውሊድ (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Tentative) |
About Ethiopian public holidays
Ethiopia observes about 13 public holidays each year, drawn from three sources: national commemorations (Adwa Victory Day, Patriots' Day, Downfall of the Derg, Labour Day), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo religious feasts (Genna, Timket, Good Friday, Fasika, Enkutatash, Meskel), and Islamic observances (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid). The Islamic holidays shift earlier by roughly 10-11 days each Gregorian year because they follow the lunar Hijri calendar.
National holidays
- Adwa Victory Day (አድዋ ድል ቀን)
- March 2. Marks Ethiopia's decisive victory over Italy at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.
- Labour Day (የላብ አደሮች ቀን)
- May 1. International Workers' Day.
- Patriots' Victory Day (የአርበኞች ቀን)
- May 5. Honors the patriots who resisted the Italian occupation of 1936-1941.
- Downfall of the Derg / National Day (ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን)
- May 28. Marks the end of the Derg military regime in 1991.
Christian holidays
- Genna (ገና) - Ethiopian Christmas
- January 7 every year (Tahsas 29 E.C., or Tahsas 28 in the year after an Ethiopian leap year). Marks the birth of Jesus and is observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
- Timket (ጥምቀት) - Epiphany
- January 19, or January 20 in a Gregorian leap year (Tir 11 E.C.). Commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River with one of Ethiopia's most colorful religious processions.
- Siklet (ስቅለት) and Fasika (ፋሲካ) - Good Friday and Easter
- Movable feasts following the Eastern Orthodox calculation. Fasika (Easter) is widely regarded as the most important religious holiday of the Ethiopian Orthodox year.
- Enkutatash (እንቁጣጣሽ) - Ethiopian New Year
- Meskerem 1, corresponding to September 11 on the Gregorian calendar (or September 12 in the year before a Gregorian leap year).
- Meskel (መስቀል) - Finding of the True Cross
- September 27 (or September 28 the year before a leap year). Commemorates Empress Helena's discovery of the True Cross in the 4th century, celebrated with the lighting of the Demera bonfire.
Islamic holidays
- Eid al-Fitr (ኢድ አልፈጥር)
- Marks the end of Ramadan. The date varies each Gregorian year because it follows the lunar Hijri calendar, and is confirmed by moon sighting, so listed dates are tentative.
- Eid al-Adha / Arefa (አረፋ)
- The Islamic feast of sacrifice. The date varies each Gregorian year and is confirmed by moon sighting, so listed dates are tentative.
- Mawlid / Mewlid (መውሊድ)
- Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The date varies each Gregorian year and is sometimes announced as tentative.
Frequently asked questions
- How many public holidays are there in Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia recognizes about 13 public holidays each year.
- Is Ethiopian Christmas the same as Western Christmas?
- No. Ethiopian Christmas (Genna) is celebrated on January 7 because the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church follows the liturgical calendar of the Coptic tradition, not the Gregorian Catholic/Protestant date of December 25.
- Why do Islamic holiday dates change every year?
- Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Mawlid follow the Islamic Hijri calendar, which is lunar. A lunar year is about 354 days, so these holidays shift roughly 10-11 days earlier on the Gregorian calendar each year.
- What is the most important Ethiopian Orthodox holiday?
- Fasika (Ethiopian Easter) is widely regarded as the most important holiday of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo year, even more so than Genna (Christmas).
- Are Ethiopian Easter and Western Easter on the same date?
- Not always. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses the Eastern Orthodox calculation for Easter, which sometimes coincides with Catholic/Protestant Easter and sometimes does not.