Ethiopians follow a 13-month calendar similar to that used in many Eastern Orthodox churches, trailing the western calendar by seven years and eight months. On the Gregorian calendar, Ethiopian New year falls on the 11th September.
According to the bible, God created the earth in the month of September, and legend has it that King Solomon gave the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba jewels during a state visit over 3,000 years ago.
Upon her return, at the end of the dry summer season, yellow flowers began to bloom in the foothills surrounding Addis Ababa, signifying the end of a long drought and the start of new life within the country.
In honour of their former empress, the festival was named Enkutatash, meaning the ‘gift of the jewels’, a name it still bears to this day.
In September, the number of daylight and nighttime hours are the same, and this another reason why September is considered spiritually significant in the eyes of early Ethiopian Christians.
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