Davido Headlines Ethiopia’s 2017 New Year Celebration in Addis Ababa

Afrobeat star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, recently headlined Ethiopia’s New Year celebration as the country entered the year 2017. A viral video on social media shows thousands of Ethiopians gathering in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital, to mark the occasion.

Davido’s associate and talent manager, Ubi Franklin, shared updates about the event on Instagram. Many were surprised to learn that Ethiopia is seven years behind the rest of the world due to its unique calendar system, the Ethiopian/Ge’ez calendar, which is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar.

Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian calendar is seven to eight years behind, as it follows different calculations for the date of the Annunciation of Jesus’s birth. The New Year is celebrated on September 11th or 12th with church services, traditional meals, and other festivities