Melkam Adis Amet 2003!

Two Ethiopian holidays that we want to incorporate into our family traditions are Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash) and Ethiopian Christmas (Genna). We celebrated Ethiopian New Year yesterday. It is now 2003 in Ethiopia (I explained their different calendar in this post last year). We asked some of our Ethiopian friends how their families observed the occasion and they invited us to join them in their celebration this year. It was an absolute HONOR to have been included in the festivities. We've learned enough about Ethiopian "time" to know that when the invitation says the party starts at 8, that really means 10 or 11, so we started off our evening with a late dinner at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant.

Our three princesses in traditional Ethiopian dresses.

This was the first time our girls have really eaten (not just picked at) Ethiopian food and liked it. Yay!

Miss K refuses to unroll her injera!

Hundreds of Ethiopian Americans from all over Florida gathered last night to celebrate. Of course, as the only family that was obviously not Ethiopian or of Ethiopian descent, people were curious about why we were there. Our girls made friends fast and, as usual, Miss K was a big hit. And as we were introduced and people made the connection between us and the adorable baby girl running around with the other children, they (unnecessarily!) thanked us for giving her a family and keeping her connected to Ethiopian culture. As I've mentioned before, she LOVES Ethiopian music. Although it was two hours past her bedtime and she started getting a little fussy as we drove from the restaurant to the dance hall, when we walked in and she heard the music, she wanted us to put her down and she joyfully danced and ran around with the other children until after midnight. We've taken her to weddings and charity functions and similar events with music, crowds and dancing before, but this was different. Hard to explain but it was like she thought the party was for HER. She had an absolute blast. As did our big girls.

Miss M adores our friend S.

Sister Love.

Miss M learns an Ethiopian hand game.

Miss K finds a little boyfriend. How cute is that suit?

The children were so sweet!

Miss K's little friend A. She loves babies!

A and her mommy.

Everyone was very welcoming to our family, but we did our best to just blend in and observe. There was lots of music, lots of kitfo, tips and injera, lots of families--most of them dressed to the nines and many in traditional Ethiopian clothing. Around midnight, the children started passing out long-stemmed red roses. First to all of the women, then to the men. With roses held high, people made their way to the dance floor. The music got louder and the party really began.

Our friend S (who owns our favorite Ethiopian restaurant and gave Miss K the beautiful dress she is wearing).

Posing with our red roses at the end of the night. Well, the end for us at least. Almost 1 a.m. and the party was really probably just getting started!

It was such a sincere, authentic celebration. A wonderful experience and memory for us all.