Literary Arts Magazine Spring 2010 | Page 22

My Plans for the Future New Year in Ethiopia By Francisco Lemus By Gebrehiwot Yihidago For the future, I would like to do many things. The most important is to buy a house in my country. I want my house with 3 bedrooms, a garage for two cars, a big yard, near good schools, and in a safe neighborhood. After that I‟m going to go back to my country, and then I will find a new job as an electrician in order to retire in my country. Next, I‟m going to get married and we are going to have two children. These are my main dreams for the future. I hope to realize them. Teacher: Lisa Walker Level 3 Afternoon Fall 2009 In Ethiopia, New Year falls on September 11. The day is called “Enkutatash” in Amharic. New Year is an important festival in Ethiopia because it comes after 3 months of heavy rains. It marks a new season. The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar. For example 2009 in the USA is 2002 in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian calendar consists of 12 months with 30 days each plus a 13th month call “pagume.” Pagume has five days and one days more in each leap year. Ethiopia has over 80 different languages but Amharic is the official national language. On New Year‟s day everybody goes to church and mosque wearing traditional Ethiopian clothing. After church and mosque there is a party in everybody‟s home. Families go to visit friends and relatives. Girls dressed in their new Ethiopian dresses go from house to house singing a special New Year song in return for some money. Ethiopia has many religious holidays which is celebrated by different religious groups. It is New Year that is celebrated by Ethiopians regardless of religion. Schools, offices, shops, and banks are closed and New Year is spent feasting and partying. Teacher: Laurel Anderson Level 3 Morning Fall 2009 21