Fiche festival
Africa
Genna — Ethiopian Christmas
Traditional and popular parties · Lalibela, Ethiopia
Dates
7 January (usually)
Venue
Lalibela, Éthiopie
Genres
Traditional and popular holidays
The festival
On January 7, Lalibela became the beating heart of Ethiopian Christmas: Genna. Thousands of pilgrims dressed in white converged to the monolithic churches carved in rock, classified as UNESCO World Heritage, for a whole night of prayers, songs and processions in the glow of flames. After 43 days of fasting, the feast celebrates the birth of Christ according to the Ethiopian calendar, in an atmosphere of rare fervor.
Living Genna in Lalibela means entering into a celebration almost unchanged for centuries, in the midst of stones and voices.