Fasika — Ethiopian Easterፋሲካ

The Great Lent

Fasika follows Hudade, or Abiy Tsome — the Great Lent — a demanding fast of about fifty-five days during which the faithful abstain from all animal products. The fast deepens through Holy Week, with the sorrow of Siklet (Good Friday) giving way to the joy of the resurrection.

The midnight service and the feast

On the eve of Fasika, worshippers dressed in white gather for a service that lasts late into the night, lit by candles and filled with chant. Around midnight the resurrection is proclaimed and the long fast is broken — often with a warming chicken soup before the great meal that follows.

The Fasika feast centres on doro wat, the rich spiced chicken stew, served with injera, alongside lamb or beef dishes and, of course, freshly roasted coffee. Families and neighbours visit one another through the day, sharing food and greetings.

How the date of Fasika is set

Unlike Ethiopia's fixed holidays, Fasika is a movable feast: its date is calculated each year from the Ethiopian Orthodox reckoning of the paschal moon, and usually falls in April or early May. It often — though not always — coincides with Orthodox Easter elsewhere. The app tracks the exact date for you every year.

Wishing someone a happy Fasika

The traditional greeting is “Melkam Fasika” (መልካም ፋሲካ) — “Happy Easter.” You may also hear “Kristos tense'a” (“Christ is risen”), answered with “Be'ame tense'a” (“Truly He is risen”). A card is a warm way to share the day.