Ethiopian Holiday Food: Doro Wot, Genna, Fasika and Meskel

Sudo Menu Editorial · 3 November 2026

In Ethiopia, holidays and food are inseparable. Many of the biggest celebrations come right after long fasting periods, so the holiday meal is the moment families break the fast together, often with dishes that take a whole day to prepare. Restaurants feel the change too: the days before a major holiday are among the busiest of the year.

This guide covers the main holidays, the food associated with each, and the dish that sits at the centre of almost every celebration: doro wot.

Doro wot (ዶሮ ወጥ), the holiday centrepiece

Doro wot is a chicken stew in a deep red berbere sauce, served with hard-boiled eggs. It is the most celebrated dish in Ethiopian cooking and the one most families prepare for holidays.

What makes it special is time. The sauce begins with a large quantity of red onions, chopped finely and cooked slowly, traditionally without oil at first, until they collapse into a thick, sweet base. Berbere and niter kibbeh are added and cooked for a long time before the chicken goes in. The chicken itself is carefully cleaned, often soaked in lemon water, and traditionally cut into a set number of pieces. Peeled hard-boiled eggs, scored so the sauce can soak in, are added near the end.

The result is rich, spicy and glossy, and it is always eaten with injera. Doro wot is often served with ayib, the mild fresh cheese, to balance the heat.

Genna (ገና): Ethiopian Christmas

Ethiopian Christmas, Genna, falls on 7 January in the Gregorian calendar (29 Tahsas in the Ethiopian calendar). It follows the Advent fast, Tsome Nebiyat, so the holiday meal is the first non-fasting meal for many people after weeks of plant-based food.

Doro wot is the classic Genna dish, often alongside lamb or beef dishes, kitfo and plenty of injera. Families attend church services the night before and gather for the meal on the day. Traditional drinks are prepared at home in many households.

Fasika (ፋሲካ): Ethiopian Easter

Fasika is the most important religious holiday for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. It follows Abiy Tsom, the Great Lent of about 55 days, during which observant people eat no animal products at all. The date changes every year and usually falls in April or early May.

After the long night service, many families break the fast in the early hours of the morning, often starting with a little doro wot. The days of Fasika are a time of visiting, feasting and generosity, and the fifty days that follow have no weekly fasting, so non-fasting dishes stay on menus for weeks.

Meskel (መስቀል): the Finding of the True Cross

Meskel is celebrated in late September (usually 27 September) with the lighting of the demera, a large bonfire, in public squares and neighbourhoods. The festival marks the finding of the True Cross and comes at the end of the rainy season, when the countryside is covered in yellow Meskel daisies, adey abeba.

For the Gurage people, Meskel is the biggest celebration of the year, and kitfo is the centrepiece of the meal. Elsewhere, Meskel is a time for family gatherings with doro wot, meat dishes and coffee ceremonies.

Enkutatash (እንቁጣጣሽ): Ethiopian New Year

The Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash, falls on 11 September (12 September in the year before a Gregorian leap year). It marks the start of the new year in the Ethiopian calendar, which runs about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one. Children sing and give hand-drawn pictures, families gather, and festive dishes such as doro wot and fresh bread are common.

Timket (ጥምቀት): Epiphany

Timket, celebrated around 19 January, commemorates the baptism of Christ and is famous for its colourful processions. Families celebrate with feasts and gatherings, and restaurants near the celebration grounds are especially busy.

Holiday bread

Many households bake a special holiday bread, such as a large round difo dabo or a spiced ambasha, often decorated on top. It is blessed and shared at the start of the meal, a reminder that holidays are about community as much as food.

What restaurants do on feast days

Around major holidays, many restaurants:

• add holiday specials such as doro wot, which is time-consuming to make at home;
• switch from fasting menus back to full menus the moment the fast ends;
• take bookings or pre-orders for large family meals;
• close or shorten hours on the holiday itself.

For venues, holidays are a good time to update the menu. A digital menu makes this easy: on Sudo Menu, a manager can add a holiday special, switch dishes on or off and publish the change in a minute, without reprinting anything.

In short

Ethiopian holidays are built around food and family. Doro wot, slow-cooked for hours, is the dish that marks the end of a fast and the start of a celebration, from Genna in January to Fasika in spring and Meskel in September. If you are in Ethiopia during a holiday, accept every invitation to share a meal; it is the best way to understand the country.