Fasika ~ Take 2

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?