The bright and savory aroma of onions and chicken simmering on a nearby fire. The sweet giggle of a little girl twirling in a brightly embroidered dress. The sound of a loving father blessing bread and thanking God for his many blessings.
For Anteneh, a father and husband living in Ethiopia, this is Easter. Each year, his family and thousands of others gather in their homes to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus by participating in Easter traditions that have been kept alive through generations.
Easter Traditions in Ethiopia: Fasika
In Ethiopia, Easter is known as Fasika, and it’s much more than a single-day celebration. Instead, the season begins 55 days before Easter Sunday.
Hudade
During these 55 days, families fast from all dairy, meat and eggs, a period known as Hudade or the “Great Lent.” Many families will only eat one meal a day, mostly comprised of vegetables, sometime after 3 p.m.
Hudade is like Lent in that families fast in remembrance of Jesus’ time spent in the wilderness. However, Hudade lasts an additional 15 days. Families spend time each day reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice and praying.
Holy Week
In the week leading up to Easter Sunday, known as Holy Week, Ethiopian families will go to various church services. On Good Friday, they’ll attend services to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. And on Holy Saturday, they’ll attend a vigil that often lasts all night long.
During this vigil, families will wear white and hold candles as they sing songs about Jesus. When the sun rises on Easter Sunday, families will joyfully celebrate the resurrection of the Savior together.
Breaking the Hudade Fast With a Feast
On Easter, families will have a great feast to break their 55-day Hudade fast. This meal features many traditional Ethiopian dishes beloved by families for centuries.
For example, many families enjoy doro wat, a spicy chicken stew made with caramelized red onions and a unique blend of spices like chili, garlic and ginger. Some families will add boiled eggs to the stew too. Doro wat is a labor of love, often taking hours to prepare.
Other dishes include defo dabo, which is an Ethiopian wheat bread, and sautéed meat known as tibs. Some families will slaughter a sheep or another animal as a symbol of ending the fast. They’ll then share the prepared meat with their community, a practice called kircha.
As they share meat, it’s also common for families and friends to enjoy Ethiopian coffee together (with a side of popcorn) while singing and dancing in celebration.
Easter Traditions Through the Eyes of Anteneh & His Family
Life is far from easy in Ginfile, a small neighborhood in Ethiopia. Home to many retired war veterans and their families, the area is marked by low incomes and few opportunities, leading to poverty.
Anteneh and his family are all too familiar with poverty. Not so long ago, Anteneh’s daily quest for work was a constant source of crippling anxiety. Not knowing if he’d be able to earn enough to meet the family’s needs cast a dark shadow over their tiny home.
After a long period of searching for work to no avail, the family found support through the Compassion program at their local church. They were given the essentials they needed, from nutritious food to spiritual encouragement. Now, they’re able to celebrate Easter with newfound hope.
A Father’s Responsibility to Provide
For centuries, fathers have carried a significant weight of responsibility during the Ethiopian Easter season. As the provider, Anteneh is responsible for ensuring his family has everything necessary to celebrate the holiday.
“When Easter comes, the main responsibility of the man in the house, the husband and the father, is to provide a hen, a sheep, or even oxen meat to share with a group of people called kircha.” — Anteneh
Sourcing meat isn’t just about providing food — it signifies the father’s calling of protection and provision and shows Anteneh’s role as the head of the household.
“It’s the husband who blesses the animal and cuts it so that it can be fresh to serve to the family on the holiday. The father avails everything necessary to celebrate the holiday so his family can be happy on the date.” — Anteneh
As Anteneh blesses the animal, he prays for his family’s health, prosperity and unity in the year to come.
A Mother’s Love to Serve
Anteneh is filled with joy and gratitude as he watches his wife, Tsehaynesh, prepare a beautiful Easter feast with the meat he provides. For her, the holiday preparation begins hours before the feast as she starts to prepare doro wat from the chicken Anteneh brings to the home.
“To prepare a doro wat, you must start by peeling onions, which takes hours. The sauce we make is another time-consuming process. Once you chop the onions, you roast them with oil and berbere (red spice blend) and finally add butter. Now the sauce is ready to put the well-cleaned chicken in and boil.” — Tsehaynesh
While preparing the doro wat, she also bakes the traditional bread, defo dabo, while caring for her young daughter, Elbethel. Easter reminds Tsehaynesh of her role as a mother and how beautiful it is to serve her family.
“The role of the mother is very tiresome and requires patience on holidays. But we do it out of love.” — Tsehaynesh
A Child’s Joyful Gratitude
Anteneh loves seeing the joy and laughter on Elbethel’s face as she takes in the sights and sounds of Easter. She watches her father closely as he carries out his duties, anticipation of the delicious meal making her giggle.
Elbethel knows the celebration is made that much more special through the gifts they’ve received from the Compassion center, like the ingredients needed to make the meal she’ll soon enjoy.
After they celebrate, Elbethel will get to go back to school at the Compassion center to discover new skills, learn about Jesus and pursue her dreams. Gratitude fills her heart as she jumps for joy around her home.
A Family’s Dedication to Caring for One Another
As the aroma of the Easter meal fills their home, the family sits together to enjoy Anteneh’s provision and Tsehaynesh’s loving preparation. But before they feast, Anteneh blesses and breaks the bread, a symbol of his duty to provide sustenance and spiritual nourishment to his family.
On their table, you won’t find multiple plates. Instead, there’s a single, shared plate in the center. In Ethiopia, it’s customary to share plates, as it signifies a family’s unity in both joy and sorrow.
The family then begins to enjoy their feast by following the tradition of gursha,meaning “mouthful” in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. Anteneh takes a small portion of food from the shared plate and, with an affectionate smile, gently places it in Tsehaynesh’s mouth. She then does the same for her husband.
Anteneh will then turn to Elbethel and extend the same loving gesture, tying a bond of love around his family with each shared bite.
“We do gursha not just for family members but also for friends and even strangers. It’s a sign of courtesy, love and care.” — Anteneh
Celebrating Easter in Ethiopia With Gratitude, Dignity & Hope
Together, the family will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and the hope it brings to their family despite the hardships they endure. As Anteneh looks at Tsehaynesh and Elbethel, he feels an overwhelming sense of joy and praise.
Though his family has suffered, they’ve weathered the storms of poverty together. Gratitude fills his heart as he sees his table and those sitting around it, a beautiful image of enduring tradition and God’s faithfulness.
He smiles when he sees the oil and teff (cereal for making flour) used to make the bread. Such simple ingredients hold incredible significance because they’re gifts from the Compassion center at the local church. Through their support, he’s empowered to provide what his loved ones need to celebrate with dignity and hope.
For Anteneh and his family, Easter is not just a holiday — it’s a celebration of life, a reaffirmation of their love and a reminder that hope can always be found, even in the face of adversity.
For over 30 years, we’ve equipped churches in Ethiopia to care for thousands of children, empowering them to be light in the darkness of poverty. Through their partnership and supporters like you, families just like Anteneh’s can celebrate the life-changing resurrection of Jesus with hope, even in the darkest of circumstances.