Public holidays in Ethiopia

The following are public holidays (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ በዓል) in Ethiopia. Many holidays follow the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[1]

National holiday
DateEnglish nameAmharic nameNotes
2 MarchVictory at Adwa Dayየዓድዋ ድል በዓልCommemorates Ethiopians victory over Italy at Battle of Adwa in 1896.[2]
1 MayInternational Workers' Dayዓለም አቀፍ የሠራተኞች ቀን
5 MayEthiopian Patriots Victory Dayየአርበኞች ቀንCommemorates the 1941 entering of Emperor Haile Selassie into Addis Ababa amidst Second World War, who returned to the throne after 5 years Italian occupation of Ethiopia following Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[3]
28 May[4]Derg Downfall Dayደርግ የወደቀበት ቀንCommemorates the end of the Derg junta in 1991. It is also known as Ginbot 7 (ግንቦት 7).
11 September
(Leap year: 12 September)		New Year's DayEnkutatash (እንቁጣጣሽ/የዘመን መለወጫ/አዲስ አመት)New Year of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Religious holidays

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church holidays
Orthodox Church calendar dateEnglish nameAmharic name
7 JanuaryEthiopian ChristmasGenna (ልደተ-ለእግዚእነ/ ገና)
19 January
(Leap year: 20 January)		EpiphanyTimkat (ብርሐነ ጥምቀት)
Moveable in springGood FridaySiklet (ዓርበ ስቅለት)
Moveable in springEasterFasika (ብርሐነ-ትንሣኤ/ፋሲካ)
27 September
28 September (leap year)		Meskelመስቀል

Islamic holidays

In addition, the following Muslim holidays, which may take place at any time of the year, are observed as public holidays:

Islamic calendar dateEnglish nameAmharic nameNotes
MoveableRamadanረመዳንNinth month, devoted to fasting
12 Rabi' al-awwal (Sunni)
17 Rabi' al-awwal (Shia)		MawlidመውሊድBirth of the Prophet
1 ShawwalEid al-Fitrዒድ አል ፈጥርBreaking of the Fast
10 Dhu al-HijjahEid al-Adhaዒድ አል አድሐFeast of the Sacrifice

Holidays under the Derg communist rule (1974–1991)
DateEnglish nameAmharic nameNotes
12 September Revolution Day የአብዮት ቀን Celebrated during Communist rule from 1974 to 1991 to celebrate the establishment of the Derg. In 1987, the celebrations of the holiday, which included a military parade on Revolution Square attended by multiple figures, also commemorated the establishment of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.[5][6]
7 NovemberOctober Revolution Dayየጥቅምት አብዮት ቀንCelebrated during Communist rule from 1974 to 1991.

References
  1. "Festivals & Holidays". www.ethioembassy.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  2. "Victory of Adwa in Ethiopia in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. "Patriots' Victory Day in Ethiopia in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  4. "Derg Downfall Day in Ethiopia". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  5. "Ethiopia Celebrates 13th Anniversary of Revolution". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  6. "Ethiopian revolution marked". UPI. Retrieved 2021-06-23.


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