February 1 Heroes’ Day Celebrated in: Rwanda February 3 Heroes’ Day Anniversary of the assassination of Eduardo Mondlane. Celebrated in: São Tomé and Príncipe February 4 Start of Liberation War Anniversary of the outbreak of the armed struggle against Portuguese…
January Holidays in Africa
January 1 New Year’s Day Celebrated in: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Chad, The Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi,…
Saba Saba – Tanzanian Holiday
Saba Saba literally translated from Swahili means “Seven Seven” or July 7. Saba Saba is a national holiday in Tanzania and is also known as “Worker’s Day”, “Industry’s Day”, or “Peasant’s Day”. On July 7, 1954 the Tanzanian political party,…
Kwanzaa
I frequently get questions about Kwanzaa and whether or not people in Africa celebrate it. Strictly speaking, Kwanzaa is not an African holiday. Generally, this time of year is when various rites of passage ceremonies take place – including circumcisions,…
Buhé
Ethiopians celebrate a holiday called Buhé (pronounced boo HAY). Buhé is celebrated on August 19th (or 20th during leap year) which is during the rainy season in Ethiopia. On the night before Buhé, households get bread dough ready for baking…