Sunday, October 31, 2010
What is Halloween like in Ethiopia?
BOO! Happy Halloween!
Did you know that the Ethiopian holiday, Buhé (boo HAY) is similar to Halloween in the United States? Buhé is celebrated on August 19th (or 20th during leap year) which is during the rainy season in Ethiopia. On the night before Buhé, households get injera ready in the fermentation process for baking the next day.
On the evening of Buhe, groups of children go from door to door asking for injera. They sing a song called "Hoya Hoye" along with other songs and jump up and down until they get their treat. Unlike the Halloween here in the United States, Ethiopian children do not dress up in costumes.
During the night each house lights small bonfires of twigs and everyone gathers around the flames. Parts of this celebration are said to come from the story of the Lost Children who wandered away and were found by torch light and given injera to eat.
Injera is a traditional Ethiopian flat bread generally made from several different flours including teff, whole wheat flour, barley, rice, and/or corn meal. This bread can take several days to make. The dough is left to ferment from one to three days creating a bread that tastes similar to sour dough bread. This bread is then cooked on a hot griddle on one side only. Injera is a very thin bread with a soft texture that is perfect for scooping up soups and stews.
Check out Melody Kettle's segment with Hot from the Kettle" on Baristanet, for a peek inside our kitchen at Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant of Montclair, NJ, to see how we make injera. We also share a recipe with you!
Have a spooky Halloween!
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Thank so much for this information! I sponsor a child in Ethiopia and I was curious if they celebrated Halloween. Thank you for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the great information! It was amazing to see the differences, and similarities between halloween in the U.S.A and Ethiopia!
ReplyDeleteYou commit a serious mistake comparing Halloween with Buhe. Halloween is a pagan tradition (Google will help) while Buhe (Mt Tabor) is a Christian tradition. The foundation of Buhe is described in Mathew 17:1-5. Because of the light they have seen on the mountain, shepherds were late from going back home following what was happening on the mountain. Worried, parents and neighbors went to the field with loaves of bread and torch lights. Buhe commemorates this occurrence. Besides Buhe (Mt Tabor), for a good reason, is celebrated in the middle of August when winter is over and more light (of the summer) is coming, hence the name Buhe (which literally means dawn or clearing of the skies). Halloween is celebrated in a reverse order when summer is over and winter is about to start for obvious reason. Hopefully you will correct your story.
ReplyDeleteur are not correct this is buhe not halloween.we dont celebrate halloween
ReplyDeletefirst of all Ethiopian children don't get enjera?false info they usually get mulmul!
ReplyDeleteHalloween has never been the same as Ethiopian Buhe.
ReplyDelete