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Christmas
Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany)
Also called: Timkat Festival, ጥምቀት
January 19 (fixed)
Ethiopian Orthodox
Timkat is Ethiopia's most spectacular festival — a three-day celebration of Jesus's baptism with processions, chanting, and holy water everywhere. Priests carry a replica of the Ark of the Covenant (called a Tabot) under embroidered cloth so holy that no one may look directly at it.
Pilgrims dress in white and follow through the streets all night. Gondar's royal baths host the most famous celebration.
Eden lists mission and voluntourism trips to Ethiopia.
At a glance
- Type
- major feast
- Date type
- Fixed (same date every year)
- Regions
- Ethiopia
- Themes
- Life of Christ, Baptism, Trinity
- Liturgical colour
- White, Gold
Common questions
Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) is observed on January 19 (fixed). Moveable feasts shift each year; fixed feasts stay on the same calendar date.
One of the most spectacular religious celebrations in the world, Timkat commemorates Christ's Baptism in the Jordan River. The central ritual involves priests carrying the Tabot — a replica of the Ark of the Covenant — from the church to a nearby river or pool, covered with richly embroidered cloth. The procession begins on the eve of Timkat (Ketera), and thousands of pilgrims in white robes follo
It is associated with Ethiopian Orthodox. It falls in the Christmas season of the liturgical year.