In Eritrea, like in its neighbour Ethiopia, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, rather than December 25th.
This is because the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses the Geez Calendar that is somewhat similar to the Julian Calendar followed by Eastern Orthodox Church.
About half the population of Eritrea are Christians and the other half are muslims.
The main churches in Eritrea are the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eritrean Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Many Christmas customs and traditions in Eritrea are similar to those in Ethiopia.
This includes people in the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church taking part in a special fast during Advent, leading up to Christmas. The fast starts on the 25th November and only a vegan diet is eaten.
A day or two before Christmas, people start preparing their big Christmas meal. Often the animal, which will be eaten at the meal, is purchased from a local street market.
These include, sheep, goats, cows or hens. People usually check an animal before purchasing it, to make sure it will have enough meat on it! The prices are normally bartered and making a deal can be a long process. The market is also buzzing with people chatting and doing last-minute grocery shopping for the holiday.
On Christmas Eve, the animal is killed. People will also do other final preparations for the meal. These include brewing Swa (a homemade beer), baking Injera (a fermented flatbread made of Taff flour) and cooking Zigni (a hot meat stew, often made with beef). Every family member will help at some point.
Many people will go to a Church service for Christmas. These can start during the evening of Christmas Eve or early in the morning on Christmas Day.
