1 DAY :IRRECHAA CELEBRATION

Day 1 . IRRECHAA CELEBRATION

Early morning meeting at a designated place. we will drive to Bishoftu. Upon arrive all participants will receive VIP PASSES & BADGES. we will follow the Irrecha celebration protocol according the Oromia tourism program.

Here’s some facts:

Bishoftu (Oromo: Bishooftu; Amharic: ቢሾፍቱ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it sits at an elevation of 1,920 metres (6,300 ft). It was formerly known as Debre Zeyit (Amharic: ደብረ ዘይት, lit. ‘Mount of Olives’) however since the late 1990s it has been officially known by the Oromo name, Bishoftu (which translates to “sweetness” or “baked”), which was its name until 1955. The town serves as the primary airbase of the Ethiopian Air Force.

Bishoftu is located 47.9 kilometres (29.8 mi) southeast of Addis Ababa along its route 4 highway. It is a resort town, known for its several lakes.

 The Oromo people celebrate Irreecha to thank Waaqa (God) for the blessings and mercies they have received throughout the previous year. The Irreecha festival is celebrated every year at the beginning of Birraa (Spring), new season after the dark and rainy winter season. It is attended by hundreds of thousands people. The thanksgiving is celebrated at sacred lakes across Oromia and Hora Harsadi, Bishoftu, Oromia as a whole. Once at the lake, festival-goers immerse freshly cut green grass and the flowers they are carrying and sprinkle themselves and place in water.

In 2019, the festival was celebrated in the nation’s and Oromia’s capital Addis Ababa for the first time in 150 years, followed by Irreecha in Bishoftu. The 2020 Irreecha in Addis Ababa was celebrated by around 5,000 people due to political tension and the COVID-19 pandemic. Irreecha is also celebrated around the world where diaspora Oromos live especially in North America and Europe.

Geography

The town is located within the Bishoftu volcanic field, an area of Holocene lava flows, cinder cones, tuff rings and maars. Several of the maars are water-filled, forming five crater lakes: Lake Bishoftu, Lake Hora (a base for watersports, many water birds and an annual festival), Lake Bishoftu Guda, Lake Koriftu and the seasonal Lake Cheleklaka. Other nearby points of interest include Mount Yerer, Green Crater Lake and Lake Hora Kiloli. Bishoftu is also home to the Ethiopian Air Force and the Harar Meda Airport (ICAO HAHM, IATA QHR), as well as a station on the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway.

Bishoftu, as a definite entity, did not come into existence until after the Second World War. Accounts of earlier travelers call the region “Adda”, although one Swedish memoir from 1935 mentions a village named “Bishoftu”; the future Cabinet minister Makonnen Habte-Wold was born in this village. At about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi; 0.54 nmi) from Adda, on land that had been owned partly by Emperor Haile Selassie I, the Italians started Azienda Agraria di Biscioftu dell’Opera Nazionale per i Combattenti on 15,000 hectares, intending to create a center of colonization as well as an experimental agricultural station. The first foundation stone for the houses was laid 9 December 1937, but only 21 dwellings were ready by May 1938. Various administrative and service buildings were also built.

After Irrecha celebration, we will return to Addis Ababa.