The Rastafarian Christmas
The following articel was originally published in the 24th December 2006 edition of The Sunday Mirror, Harare. The video depicts an Ethiopian hymn celebrating the Birth of Christ.
በተሳብ ቂዱስ The Blessed Virgin Maryam and Her Son
Lidät – the Rastafarian Christmas
Christmas as the saying goes, means different things to different people.
Even so, being the only Rastafarian in my wide circle of friends and family, my way of marking this occasion remains something of an enigma. I get many cards, and presents, but I never return the gesture. I also decline to attend Christmas parties. Then, in the first week of January, those of my people that are online get e-cards with the Amharic Greeting, Inkwan lalidätu baal badahna adarrasaw (lit. “Congratulations, to the Birth of Him the feast in safety He has brought you”)
And so, it emerges that Rastafarians do celebrate the Birth of Christmas, except that it’s not called Christmas and it’s not celebrated on the 25th of December. It is called Lidät, an Amharic word meaning “Birthday”. Because the Amharic language has its own alphabet, you will sometimes find this spelt as Ledet or Lidet as there is no standard transliteration in Western letters.
Already, it is clear from the name that the origin of this custom is Ethiopia, the spiritual home of Rastafari. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the oldest Christian Churches in the world, has been celebrating the Birth of Christ on the 7th of January long before European Christendom even came up with its own version of Christmas. In the light of the on-going controversy about the exact date, let me hasten to mention that the Orthodox Church does not claim that this was the day Jesus was born. Rather, the Feast was instituted by the Three Kings who arrived in Bethlehem on this day and paid homage to the Infant Christ.
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him,” Gospel of Matthew 2:1-2.
Further testament of the particular importance of Lidät is found in a prophecy of the visit if these Three Kings, dating from the time of the Patriarch Adam, who was given their gifts as a consolation after his expulsion from Eden. Read more
Let it rain, may blessings come
A children’s playful rhyme has the following words, “mvura naya-naya tidye mupunga” which means , “let it rain so that we may have rice to eat”, and in my opinion it illustrates the vast importance of water in agriculture. At the onset of the rain season a frequent sight is of children holding hands and dancing round and round in a circle as they look up expectantly into the sky, singing this rhyme. In Zimbabwe the rice crop in grown in a muddy field - “mudoro”. Read more
Coronation Day
The 23rd of Temqt or 2nd of November is the most important date of the Rastafarian Calendar. It is on this day in 1923 A.M (Amete Meherit, “the year of Mercy” i.e. the Ethiopian Calendar) that Ras Tafari Makonnan, 225th scion of an unbroken line that descended from King Solomon of Israel and Queen Makeda, also known as the Queen of Sheba, was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Light and Saviour of the World, Elect of God. His Consort, Wayzaru Woleite Giorgis Manan Assfaw was also crowned Empress of Ethiopia, Queen of Queens. Read more
I am not afraid
Today’s message is from Maria Woodworth-Etter.
He has shown me we are in the last days.
He has poured out his Spirit in all my meetings. Praise God, no matter how the Holy Ghost came, I knew the Lord was leading. How did I realize this? It is “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord” (Zech. 4:6). Read more
Who are you?
Magnanimity is the quality of the person who knows himself or herself to be worthy of great honors. The person who overestimates self-worth is conceited, and the person who underestimates self-worth is pusillanimous. – Aristotle
The knowledge of oneself is the foundation of breakthrough and success. I believe that the lack of this knowledge is often the source of the greatest failure: success in the wrong assignment. It is therefore imperative that one diligently introspects and above all, finds out from the creator himself who one has been made to be. There is no manufacturer who comes up with a product without first contemplating what it will be used for. Likewise, there is no single person in existence who is just here for no specific reason. “Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.” – Psalm 139:16 Read more
