Enkutatash

Enkutatash is a New Year holiday in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is celebrated on Meskerem 1 on the Ethiopian calendar, which is 11 September according to the Gregorian calendar.

Origin

According to Ethiopian tradition, on 11 September Queen of Sheba returned to Ethiopia from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Her followers celebrated her return by giving her jewels. Hence ‘‘Enkutatash’’ means the ‘‘gift of jewels’’.

Observance

This holiday is based on the Ethiopian calendar. It is the Ethiopian New Year.
Large celebrations are held around the country, notably at the Raguel Church on Mount Entoto.
According to InCultureParent, "after attending church in the morning, families gather to share a traditional meal of injera and wat. Later in the day, young girls donning new clothes, gather daisies and present friends with a bouquet, singing New Year's songs." According to the Ethiopian Tourism Commission, "Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Modern Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated – in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers."
The Ethiopian counting of years begins in the year 8 of the common era. This is because the common era follows the calculations of Dionysius, a 6th-century monk, while the non-Chalcedonian countries continued to use the calculations of Annianus, a 5th-century monk, which had placed the Annunciation of Christ exactly 8 years later. For this reason, on Enkutatash in the year 2016 of the Gregorian calendar, for example, it became 2009 in the Ethiopian calendar.