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The Festive Fans take this episode to Ethiopia to answer that age-old question: “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Well, yes they do. In fact, it’s a lot different than what you might imagine. They like fasting, then eating, then playing a competitive field hockey game played like medieval combat. It’s an ancient tradition carried on now with neighbor against neighbor or town against town. Typically, it is played by men only, and it is supposed to be the game that the shepherds played the night that Jesus was born – “allegedly”.
Oh, and for Christmas, Ethiopians will dress in white. And it’s not on December 25th, it’s on January 7, according to the calendar of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. So, they do know how to celebrate. In fact, they spend forty-three days getting ready. Before all the feasting begins, they must fast to be physically and spiritually ready for the big event. In Ethiopia, Christmas isn’t just a holiday—it’s a full-body experience – and they avoid eating meat, dairy, or animal products in those days leading up to Christmas. It is called the Fast of the Prophets.
When the families do gather to eat, they enjoy doro wat (spicy chicken stew), eaten with injera (a sourdough flatbread). Someone will also usually butcher a goat in their backyard, which is another holiday custom. Although, you won’t learn any of this from our featured film Crumbs, a post-apocalyptic futuristic sci-fi adventure featuring an angry Santa. It may be avant-garde. It may be alternative. It may be independent. You decide, but it’s just not festive.
We hope our visit here in 2025 may change some perceptions. Too often, Ethiopia and Christmas are associated with the Band Aid song. It may seem patronizing, culturally insensitive, or overly simplistic today, but let’s give it a break. We know that the title of the song — Do They Know It’s Christmas? – may feel condescending. Obviously, as Ethiopia is home to some of the oldest Christian traditions in the world, of course they know about Christmas.
However, this question is rhetorical. It’s about how, at that time, with so many suffering from extreme hunger, whether anyone would feel that it’s Christmas. The song isn’t about questioning Ethiopian faith; it’s challenging how everyone else can celebrate in comfort while the Ethiopians were facing a natural disaster and a horrible famine, compounded by war, displacement, and logistical collapse. International aid was desperately needed and although the lyrics may seem awkward today, they did shock the world into awareness and action. The song wasn’t written to teach about geography or theology. It was written to raise money for food aid and medical supplies, and it worked tremendously.
So let’s put the past aside. Come enjoy a trip to celebrate a beautiful country that is, at times, vibrant, messy, joyful and holy, but always with a big heart and a proud heritage.
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