Ethiopian Christmas, Genna, falls on 7 January, and the next one is Thursday 7 January 2027. If you arrive in late December expecting Christmas, you will find an ordinary working week: the build-up here is quieter and more religious than many visitors expect, with weeks of fasting, a night in church, then a big family meal.

Genna night is also one of the busiest nights of the year on the roads of Addis, with families crossing the city to church and back in the small hours. Ethiopia Driver, a family-run private driver service in Addis Ababa, can drop you at the church door and collect you afterwards, so you don't have to find a taxi at 3 am.

When is Ethiopian Christmas?

Genna falls on 7 January in the Gregorian calendar, which corresponds to 29 Tahsas in the Ethiopian calendar. The date is the same as Christmas in other Orthodox churches that keep the Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian one.

• Genna 2027: Thursday 7 January, with the Christmas Eve service on the night of Wednesday 6 January.

Genna is a national public holiday, so many offices and shops close on the day. Timkat, the Ethiopian Epiphany, follows 12 days later on Tuesday 19 January 2027, which makes January the country's main festival month.

What is the fast before Ethiopian Christmas?

Many Orthodox Christians keep Tsome Nebiyat, the Fast of the Prophets, before Genna. It is usually described as a 43-day fast starting in late November (from 15 Hidar, around 24 November, to Christmas Eve), though it is sometimes called a 40-day fast. During the fast, observant people avoid all animal products, including meat, dairy and eggs.

For travellers this matters mainly at mealtimes. In the weeks before Christmas, vegan fasting dishes are everywhere and many people around you will not be eating meat. The fast breaks after the Christmas Eve service, and meat dishes return to family tables on Genna day.

How is Genna celebrated?

The Christmas Eve service

The heart of Genna is an overnight service on Christmas Eve. It typically starts in the evening and runs into the early hours, with chanting, prayers and a long procession that circles the church building. Worshippers often wear the netela, a thin white cotton shawl, frequently with a coloured woven border, and when a church is full many people follow the service from outside.

Christmas Day: family and food

Christmas Day centres on family gatherings rather than presents. The centrepiece is doro wat, a slow-cooked, deeply spiced chicken stew, usually with hard-boiled eggs, served on injera, the spongy sourdough flatbread. A coffee ceremony and visits to relatives and neighbours often follow.

What is the game of genna?

The festival shares its name with a traditional highland game that looks a little like field hockey: two teams use curved sticks to hit a wooden ball. Tradition links it to the shepherds who were tending their flocks on the night Jesus was born. It is played on open ground between villages, so don't count on seeing it in central Addis.

How is Genna different from Western Christmas?

• The date. 25 December is not a public holiday in Ethiopia; offices and shops work as normal. The holiday is 7 January.
• The build-up. Instead of weeks of parties, many people spend the run-up fasting, with no meat, dairy, eggs or alcohol.
• The main event. The religious high point is the night-long Christmas Eve service, not a morning of presents.
• The table. Turkey and puddings give way to doro wat, injera and a coffee ceremony, shared with extended family and neighbours.
• The clothes. White cotton netela shawls, often with coloured borders, are the traditional thing to wear to church.

What can visitors do for Genna in Addis Ababa?

Addis has many Orthodox churches, and the Christmas Eve services are open to respectful visitors. Stay near the back or outside, dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, bring a warm layer for a cold highland night, and keep photography discreet, with no flash during prayers.

If you are invited to a family meal on 7 January, accept: it is the most authentic way to experience Genna, and you can expect to be fed generously. If you have no invitation, ask your hotel which restaurants are open on the day, as some places close for the holiday.

Getting around is the part that catches visitors out. Streets near the big churches fill up on the evening of the 6th, services end in the early hours, and on the 7th you may want to visit family or friends in different parts of the city. A driver by the day makes this simple: we drop you at the church, pick you up when the service ends and take you on to lunch or your hosts' home the next day.

Can you go to Lalibela for Ethiopian Christmas?

Lalibela, with its rock-hewn churches, has long been the most famous place to spend Genna and draws large numbers of pilgrims. Right now it is not a trip we can recommend.

The alternative is to spend Genna in Addis Ababa, attend a Christmas Eve service at a large city church, and stay on for Timkat twelve days later. Together they give you the two biggest religious celebrations of the Ethiopian winter without travelling into an area under an all-travel warning. Between the two you could add a day trip by car to the crater lakes at Bishoftu, or drive south to Hawassa, which our drivers do regularly. The US rates Ethiopia overall as Level 3, Reconsider Travel, so check the advice for Addis too.

How should you plan a January trip around Genna?

• January is a popular time to visit because of Genna and Timkat, so book flights and Addis hotels early. We can book your hotel in birr as part of your trip.
• Expect closures on 7 January itself, and plan for crowds around churches on the evening of the 6th.
• Pack layers: Addis sits high in the highlands, and a night outdoors at a church service gets cold.
• Check the latest official travel advice again shortly before you fly.