Fasika is the Amharic name for Easter. This year, Ethiopian Easter (and
Orthodox Easter) occurred one week after Easter celebrated throughout the rest
of the world. Fasika preparations
began weeks (even months) before the actual holiday. Many people (primarily Orthodox Christians) fasted for a
couple of months prior to Fasika.
This also meant that many meat shops were not selling meat, leading to
less protein for me and less energy.
Luckily, many people were not buying eggs, so those were never in short
supply (supplementing the loss of protein from lack of meat)! Also, cooking preparations began a week
or two before the actual day of celebration.
There was also a long church service the Friday (Good
Friday) prior to the Sunday of Fasika.
Services and way of celebrating varied a bit among Christians though
based upon religious affiliation (Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic). The main difference was in how many
services took place throughout the weekend, length of services, etc. On the day of Fasika, many people went
to church again in the morning.
Following church, the rest of the day was spent being with family and
friends, eating cultural food (primarily duro wat; aka chicken with a thicker
sauce), and drinking local drinks such as Tej and bunna (buna generally brought
out with fandisha). The
celebrations continued the following day (Monday). Similar to Sunday, there was lots of food. Many people did not go to work that day
and many students skipped school.
People slowly trickled back into work and school throughout the rest of
the week.
 |
| Duro wat, iyb (Ethiopian Cheese), hard boiled egg, and injera |
*Side note:
Duro ~ Amharic for chicken
Bunna ~ Amharic for coffee
Fandisha ~ Amharic for popcorn
 |
| Bunna!! |
 |
| Fandisha & Bunna |
I think that what really stuck out to me about Fasika is
that this is the first major holiday in Ethiopia that I have now celebrated
twice. Fasika was the first
holiday that I really celebrated in Ethiopia and was celebrated with my host
family in Butajira during my first three months in country during pre-service
training. This thought really
solidified the fact that I have now been living in Ethiopia for just over a
year now and have one more year to go.
I was also realizing that this may or may not also be the last time I
celebrate Fasika (at least Ethiopian Easter in Ethiopia). I think that it is safe to say that in
some ways, this was a very bittersweet day or two for me.
What I really enjoyed about Fasika, like so many other
holidays in Ethiopia, was that many people invited me over to their homes and
wanted to celebrate with me. And
again, like many other Ethiopian holidays, was fed a lot of food and buna… and
I mean A LOT!!! I knew that I ate
a lot because I did not sleep at all that night and could not eat for a good
day or two after the celebrations were concluded. I really like Fasika because it is essentially a universal
religious holiday (except a difference in date) that holds the same meaning for
people all over the world. In a
country that is so different than the one I identify the most with, it can be
so refreshing sometimes to be able to celebrate a holiday that is the same
basically the same in both places.
Some things can be so good for me on a personal level when they bring a
sense of normalcy to my life. Some
of my favorite experiences in Ethiopia have been ones like Fasika when I am
able to experience something so unique to Ethiopia yet brings that sense of
normalcy to my life. Moments like
these will be some of the moments that I remember and treasure the most of this
overall experience in Ethiopia.
*Next Post Preview: Shynunna Break #1 ~ The question asked was: Can you tell us a story about one of your shybunna breaks?
