Yes Band Aid, Ethiopians do know it's Christmas time

East African nation was one of the first to adopt Christianity but celebrates with other Orthodox Christians on 7 January

Composite illustration of Orthodox Christians attending Christmas festivities in Lalibela
When Band Aid recorded 'Do They Know It's Christmas', Ethiopia was under a communist regime that barred religious festivals
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

When Band Aid recorded a single to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, the supergroup famously sang: "Do they know it's Christmas time at all?"

But regardless of the much-critiqued lyrics, Ethiopia was one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity – before the UK. In 2019, a team of archaeologists in Ethiopia uncovered the oldest known Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, near the modern-day border with Eritrea. They concluded it had been built in the fourth-century AD – around the time when Roman Emperor Constantine I legalised Christianity.

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No Santa, no elves

Ethiopians follow the ancient Julian calendar, and like many other Orthodox Christians they celebrate Christmas on 7 January (or according to the Ge'ez Ethiopian calendar, the 29th day of Tahsas).

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration is known as Ganna, or Genna, and "celebrations last for weeks", said RoughGuides.

"Christianity is not new for Tigrayans, we are the first, no one is before us," one Ethiopian man who lives in Manchester told The Guardian. "But the way we celebrate Christmas is Orthodox," another added. "We don't celebrate Santa Claus and elves!"

A new outfit

Ganna is first and foremost a religious holiday; unlike in the West, Ethiopians do not typically exchange gifts. "Religious observances, feasting, and games are the focus of the season," said HowStuffWorks.

But one gift that children "eagerly await" is a new outfit to wear on Christmas Day, said World Vision. These are often shemmas – "a traditional dress made from thin white cotton with colourful embroidery and thread at the edges".

Ironically, when the Band Aid song was recorded during the 1983-85 famine, the nation was under a communist government that banned any religious festivals. So although Ethiopians very much knew it was Christmas when the song made waves around the world, they were not allowed to observe it.

Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.