![\"Church](\"https:\/\/www.mjsilver.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/20140107_082809.jpg\")
<\/a>Church decorated for Christmas in Adola<\/p><\/div>\n
A pleasant late afternoon drive out into the countryside, much of it on the dirt track that led out to the rural community we were visiting.\u00a0 The sisters were probably wondering where this large church they were promised was as they pulled into a compound with only two small huts in evidence.<\/p>\n
The tiny ramshackle church had space for about 20 to 30 people, but for this occasions about 50 crammed into the confined space, wooden beams and thatch brushing the heads of those sat near the side walls.\u00a0 Shortly after dusk the mass started and although it wasn\u2019t midnight mass I had come to know in other places, it was really something very special.\u00a0 There was such a strong sense of community amongst the locals who made the foreigners interlopers feel really part of it and one of the great charms about churches here in Oromia is the joy that they have when celebrating.\u00a0 Everyone joins in with the singing, which is beautiful, and are accompanied only by a drum, usually played by one of the ladies.\u00a0 Those in the know will appreciate how disappointing it is for me that there is no one playing an organ!\u00a0 For those not in the know, I prefer organs to be played, just once, preferably with a sledgehammer or hatchet.<\/p>\n At the end, one of the sisters made a short speech comparing the setting to that of Bethlehem, and there was certainly a rustic charm to the place that made it easier to imagine.\u00a0 However, for me the greatest part was the welcome from the community, which even extended to their offering us food at the end.\u00a0 Somehow this made Christmas extra special this year.<\/p>\n Cooing Goat<\/p><\/div>\n Christmas day itself (Genna) you will be pleased to read that I ended up feeling overfull in true Christmas dinner tradition, although not in the conventional way.\u00a0 It began with servings of goat cooked up in a huge pot and dished out after the morning mass in Adola.\u00a0 Just as they were about to start serving this the dean called and requested my presence for a \u2018ceremony\u2019 up on the college campus.\u00a0 So eating quickly I rushed back up to the college.\u00a0 The ceremony was\u2026 a meal at the dean\u2019s house.\u00a0 The vice-dean had already invited me for lunch, but that was fine.\u00a0 I could go there later!\u00a0 It soon became apparent that I would be eating at several houses and given the farenji stomach is not geared up for copious amounts of injera (the local staple) I was feeling extremely full by the end of all these meal invitations.<\/p>\n Christmas Dinner number 1!<\/p><\/div>\n It is this hospitality of inviting friends and sometimes strangers to share what you have with that is one of the greatest things about Ethiopia and religion is not an issue \u2013 Muslim colleagues are also welcome to join in the celebrations, for example, and I believe it is the case for Muslim festivals too.<\/p>\n One of my little buddies on the college campus – The vice-dean’s youngest son.<\/p><\/div>\n It all made Christmas worth waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It finally happened.\u00a0 Christmas arrived in Ethiopia and it was certainly very different to my prior experiences.\u00a0 This story begins a little way back in time\u2026 No, I am not going back 2000 years, but rather to September, when I … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>