Viewing archives for Rastafari

6th – 7th January 2025

Christian – (Christian – Orthodox and Armenian: Julian calendar)

Many Orthodox and Armenian churches, and certain others related to them (including the Ethiopian and Rastafarian communities, see below) still use the Julian, rather than the Gregorian Calendar, that is currently used by Western Christians. Accordingly they celebrate Christmas and certain other festivals thirteen days after the Western churches, so that the 6th and 7th of January in the Orthodox calendar equate to the 24th and 25th December in the Western one.

The focus of their celebrations is the arrival of the three Wise Men to celebrate the birth of the infant Jesus, supported by the belief that one of them came from Ethiopia. Rastafarian tradition holds that Baltazar (Balthasar), one of the Three Kings, was from Ethiopia, and is often depicted as a black man even in the West. In Ethiopia, Lidät is celebrated with a special service at church. The more devout will fast on the gahad (Christmas Eve), and the even more devout for 40 days prior. At home, a big feast is prepared. No tree, no snow, no mistletoe. The main decoration depicts the Manger scene, where the Three Kings pay homage to the Infant. Tradition has it that Balthasar, the Ethiopian King, brought the frankincense. And, only children get presents. On this day, children play a hockey-like game called Genna, from where we get the alternative name of the Feast.

6th – 7th January 2025

Christian – Rastafarian and Ethiopian Orthodox

To Rastafarians it is a time not only to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the manner prescribed by tradition, but also to reflect on this event in the context of the original prophecy of his birth, seen as a manifestation of God not only as Priest but as King. The focus on January 7th as the date of his birth is held to be more accurate than the Western choice of a date with pagan connotations relating to the winter solstice.

Rastafarian Christmas celebrations in particular are lively and vibrant, and are evidence of the buoyant nature of these communities and their customs. At the same time the theological message of the incarnation is always visible in their corporate worship.

23rd July 2025

Rastafarian

This is one of the holiest days of the Rastafarian year. It is celebrated with Nyahbinghi drumming, hymns and prayers. Born in 1892 as Tafari Mahonnen, Ras Tafari ruled Ethiopia as regent and crown prince from 1916 to 1928, and in 1930 was crowned emperor. This was when he became his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassi I, a name that means ‘Power of the Trinity’.

Haile Selassie was Ethiopia’s 225th and last emperor, serving from 1930 until his overthrow in 1974 by the Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. He traced his line back to Menelik I, who was credited with being the child of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. His birth had been foretold by astrologers, who foretold the great drought that started in 1889 and was broken at the moment of the child’s birth, thus confirming his identity and destiny. His teachers were astounded at the depth of his knowledge and his understanding of ancient Indic religious texts. It is claimed that he could also converse with animals, and that savage beasts became docile in his presence. He was a skilled linguist, who learnt to read and write in Amharic and Ge’ez – and also in French.

For a country trying to gain its foothold in the world and seeking to curry favour with the West, the progressive Ras Tafari came to symbolize the hopes and dreams of Ethiopia’s younger population. In 1923 he led Ethiopia into the League of Nations. The following year, he travelled to Europe, becoming the first Ethiopian ruler to go abroad.

Many of the Jamaican descendants of former slaves regarded Ethiopia as the symbol of all Africa, so the crowning of the new emperor was regarded as a highly propitious event. The Rastafari movement emerged in the 1930s, in large part inspired by the vision of Marcus Garvey and focussed on the belief that Haile Selassie was a divine being and the redeemer of the black people. Although the anticipated mass repatriation to Africa has not occurred, the movement has spread throughout much of the world, largely through immigration and the interest generated by reggae music – most notably, that of Bob Marley. For the more than a million Rastafarians worldwide, the anniversary of the birth of Haile Selassie is considered one of the most significant days of the Rasta year.

11th September 2025

Rastafari

Ethiopian families love to celebrate their New Year, which they call Enqutatash, ‘gift of jewels’, with presents and visits. They celebrate a four year cycle, in which each year is named after an evangelist. It is claimed that the Queen of Sheba was in fact an Ethiopian, and that when she returned from her visit to King Solomon, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku, ‘jewels’.

Rastafarians throughout the world honour it too. It is a spring festival that has been celebrated since early times, and the cessation of the rains marks a month of transition from the old year to the new. Early in the morning everybody goes to Church wearing traditional Ethiopian clothing. Afterwards there is a family meal of injera (flat bread) and wat (stew). Children dance through the villages dressed in their new clothes at this time, and in the evening households light bonfires as the focus for much singing and dancing. Girls go from house to house handing out bouquets and singing songs, and boys sell pictures that they have painted so that they will have sufficient money to buy presents for members of their families.

2nd November 2025

Rastafari

One of the holiest days of the Rastafarian year, it celebrates Haile Selassie’s accession to the Ethiopian throne. It cements the role Ethiopia plays at the heart of Rastafarian tradition.

Amongst followers of Rastafarianism, a religion which developed in the 1930s in Jamaica under the influence of Marcus Garvey’s “Back to Africa” movement, Haile Selassie I is regarded as a messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom. The date of his coronation is celebrated by believers throughout the world as one of the most sacred days of the Rastafarian calendar.

Haile Selassie’s birthname was Tafari Mekonnen. When he was crowned Emperor in 1930, he assumed the name Haile Selassie, “Might of the Trinity”, as well as the title “King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”

He reigned until 1974, when he was deposed in a military coup following famines and economic turmoil in the country. Put under house arrest by the military authorities, he died in 1975, reputedly of natural causes, although many believe he was killed on the order of the military. Rastafarians themselves believe that Selassie is still alive, and that his widely reported death is part of a conspiracy to discredit their religion. In the end, the dissent which toppled his government came from the same group of elite intellectuals to which he had afforded support and education, in opposition to the influence of feudal tradition.

Custodianship of the popular opinion of Haile Selassie has gradually moved towards the Rasta movement, as the movement itself has gained more freedom, not least through the spread of reggae music. This tradition has proved very efficient in disseminating basic knowledge of Selassie into popular conscience, especially in the Caribbean. Just as old Ethiopians swear on Selassie as Janhoy (meaning the Elephant, as in the Emperor who is greater than the King of the jungle, the Lion), throughout the English-speaking parts of the region it is common to substitute ‘God knows’ with ‘Selassie knows’. Iconic images of His Imperial Majesty can be found virtually anywhere.