Fifteen Days of Cultural Journey to Ethiopia-Timket / Epiphany Celebrations

Duration

15 days

Overview

Timket or Epiphany is one of the largest religious holidays celebrated in Ethiopia every year on the 18th or 19th or 20th of January (depends on the calendar of the year but in 2020 the exact day is planned to be on Monday 20th January) to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Chris by St John the Baptist in Jordan. The ceremony begins with the feast of the holiday season in the early afternoon and Christians gather around the churches to witness the ceremony of the release of the copies of the Ark of the Covenant, also known as the "Tabotes". During the procession, the Tabotes (wooden altar, like the Ark of the Covenant, which is kept out of sight of the faithful) are covered by a cloth and are worn on the heads of the people. priests from each church to place them in a tent mounted near a water tank.The next morning OR the day of the feast, the faithful who attended the Mass around this sacred place, plunges or returns to the water to purify itself.