My Family, My Journey: Christmas in Ethiopia

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Christmas in Ethiopia

As we prepare for Christmas I often think of what this time of year will be like once our children are home. We want to incorporate some of the Ethiopian customs into our family traditions and this time of year seems like a perfect occasion to do this.

Christmas in Ethiopia is called Ganna and because Ethiopia has its own ancient calendar, which has much in common with the Coptic Egyptian Calendar, Ganna falls on January 7th instead of December 25th. One of the things we plan to do on January 7th is cook some of the traditional Ethiopian foods including wat - essentially a spicy stew - and injera, which is a sourdough pancake of sorts that is used to scoop up the wat.

I heard that injera is quite difficult to get right and I have not tried my hand at it yet, but I did buy some teff flour at our local Whole Foods today - baby steps, baby steps! We also made a batch of berbere last night. For those who don't know, this is the traditional spice used to flavor most Ethiopian cooking. It is quite hot and spicy! At the moment we have our first dora wat on the stove and it smells great!

Please watch this amazing slide show by the BBC of Ganna traditions in Ethiopia.

4 comments:

InventingLiz said...: You might be able to find a place to buy injera - there's a convenience store in Boston that is run by Ethiopians, in addition to your run-of-the-mill bread/milk/fruit/last-minute essentials you would expect to find in such a place, they carry injera and Ethiopian spices. I just went there this weekend to stock up on injera and will definitely go back! If you're close to NYC, I bet you can find something similar...; Sunday, December 06, 2009
The Busters said...: Wow, I am super impressed that you are going to make your own injera. I'd love to see pictures of the finished product. Thanks for the BBC link!; Sunday, December 06, 2009
David said...: Wow this sounds delicious. Wish I was there.; Monday, December 07, 2009
Evelyn said...: Heidi - I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of the nice comments you've left on my blog! I haven't gotten a chance to read a lot of yours, but look forward to it. I think the sibling adoption is unique and look forward to seeing how your journey continues.

Peace,

Evelyn; Monday, December 07, 2009

Timeline

*PAPER CHASE/5.5 MNTHS*
6-27-08: Register for orientation with local agency
7-16-08: Attend orientation with local agency
8-19-08: Decide to adopt from Ethiopia through Gladney. Best decisions ever!
8-28-08: Attend orientation with Gladney
8-28-08: 1st Home Study interview
9-25-08: Home study interviews completed & all Gladney paper work submitted
9-30-08: CIS fingerprints
10-2-08: FBI clearance
11-12-08: Home Study report completed
11-25-08: Gladney approval
12-4-08: CIS approval
*WAIT FOR REFERRAL/13 MNTHS*
12-11-08: Wait list!!!!!!!
4-21-09: Increased our age preference hoping to speed things up (HA!)
8-29-09: Heidi's medicals updated
9-15-09: Mark's medicals updated
9-20-09: Travel Immunizatons
11-10-09: Sent in request for CIS fingerprint updates
11-11-09: Gladney calls to review our age preference
11-17-09: Gladney calls again and tells us about twin boys who *might* become available. We agree to increasing our age preference in order to pursue these boys.
11-21-09: Receive CIS fingerprint appointment
12-16-09: Have CIS fingerprints taken
1-4-10: Referral!!!!!!! 28 month old twin boys!!!!!
*WAIT TO PASS COURT/4 MNTHS*
1-19-10: Start home study update
2-18-10: CIS fingerprints cleared
3-4-10: Home study update completed/sent CIS extension request
3-30-10: File submitted to courts!
3-31-10: Received court date!
4-22-10: Received CIS approval extension
4-23-10: 1st court date
4-28-10: 2nd court date
5-05-10: 3rd court date
05-06-10: 4th and final court date! We're a family!
5-12-10: Receive travel dates!
5-18-10: Travel!
6-1-10: Home as a family of SEVEN (four humans, three puppy dogs!)

Fun Facts About Ethiopia

•Ethiopia has been around for a very long time. The country's Rift Valley is known as the cradle of humanity - fossils of the oldest known upright hominid (4-million years old) were found here in 2005, surpassing the famous 3.5-million-year-old 'Lucy', which was discovered in the same region back in 1974.

•A thousand years before Christ, the Queen of Sheba, we are told, traveled to Jerusalem where she met King Solomon, married him, and had a son, Menelik. When Menelik reached maturity, it is said he left Jerusalem and took with him the Ark of the Covenant, containing the original 10 commandments, back to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church says it still has the ark in its possession. No one else makes such a claim...

•Ethiopia's official religion is the 1700 year old Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. The Jews of Ethiopia, Beta Israel, are said to have been there for 3000 years. And its Muslim adherents have practiced Islam for 1300 years. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South.

•Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to be under colonial rule, other than a brief occupation by Italy during WWII. You can visit many restaurants in Ethiopia today due to the influence of Italy during the occupation.

•Traditional Ethiopian food consists of various vegetable or meat dishes, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, which is a large crepe-like sourdough flatbread made from fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses a piece of the injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the sauces.

•The Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar – each have 13 months, 12 with 30 days each and the 13th month at the end of the year with 5 or 6 days, depending on whether it is a leap year. The year starts on September 11th (12th in a leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar, so Ethiopia recently celebrated their millennium on September 12, 2007.

•Coffee can be traced back to the 9th Century where it is believed a shepherd discovered coffee beans in the highlands of Ethiopia, namely the Kaffa region. The Ethiopian people are very proud of their coffee and they show this in their well known coffee ceremonies. The Coffee Ceremony is a very important part of socializing in Ethiopia and to be invited to a coffee ceremony is always considered a sign of respect and friendship.

•There are multiple tribes with different subcultures and over 80 languages in Ethiopia. The Amharic language is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia and is the official working language for Ethiopia.

•Family in Ethiopia includes immediate and extended relatives, neighbors, and friends. Faith and family are the foundation of the Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians are very respectful and loving. The elderly are considered very knowledgeable and as a very important part of the family structure. Children are usually raised in a large community that includes extended family and neighbors, and siblings are expected to help take care of each other.