{"id":464675,"date":"2026-09-15T17:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464675\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T17:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:48:14","slug":"melkam-enkutatash-san-jose-welcomes-the-ethiopian-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464675\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Melkam Enkutatash!\u2019 San Jos\u00e9 Welcomes the Ethiopian New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands showed up to the South Bay\u2019s celebration this weekend, with plenty of music, soccer and adey abeba \u2014 the flower traditionally used to mark the occasion.\n<\/p>\n

Sep 15, 2026<\/p>\n

Updated 10:21 am PT<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Genet Hailegiogirgis (center) sings along to a performance at an Ethiopian new year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.\u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Dressed from head to toe in resplendent yellow, Semert Haile passed out flowers as she walked through San Jos\u00e9<\/a>\u2019s Arena Green East Park. \u201cMelkam Enkutatash!\u201d she greeted everyone. \u201cHappy Ethiopian New Year!\u201d<\/p>\n

And not even the roaring of airplanes taking off from San Jos\u00e9 Mineta International Airport nearby was enough to drown out the sound of music and children\u2019s laughter at this Ethiopian New Year celebration. This Enkutatash event was first held in the South Bay in 1991.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Organized in part by the nonprofit Ethiopian Community Services, Sunday\u2019s celebration drew thousands \u2014 both Ethiopian residents and supporters \u2014 in a testament to the growing strength of the Ethiopian diaspora in the Bay Area\u2019s biggest city.<\/p>\n

\"\"Children play together at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.\u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\"\"An attendee wears a yellow flower, also known as adey ababa, which blooms during the New Year, on their sleeve at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Children play soccer at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

Just like the Western Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian Ge\u2019ez calendar is based on the year<\/a> of Jesus Christ\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n

Because the Gregorian and Ge\u2019ez calendars differ on Christ\u2019s exact birth year, however, this Enkutatash marks the beginning of the year 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seven years behind in Ethiopia,\u201d Haile joked.<\/p>\n

\n\u2018Shout out to our community\u2019\n<\/p>\n

Haile was not the only one dressed in yellow on Sunday. Hundreds of families from all over the South Bay showed up wearing shirts, headbands and traditional habesha dresses<\/a> embellished with intricate gold patterns. Many designs feature a yellow flower, similar to those that Haile gave away.<\/p>\n

While it may resemble a sunflower, this is adey abeba \u2014 a flower native to Ethiopia that blooms at the end of the rainy summer season, marking both the start of September and the new year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in Ethiopia, the children go door to door giving these flowers as a gift,\u201d Haile reminisced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Semert Haile poses for a portrait at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.\u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\"\"A child waves an adey ababa flower during a singing performance at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Children celebrate Ethiopian New Year on a stage at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been more than 20 years since she left her home in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Coming to California was a great opportunity, she said \u2014\u00a0but also somewhat of an isolating experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s the New Year, everybody\u2019s together each day. Everyone eats together. The house is warm,\u201d she said. \u201cHere, you have to be invited by other people [to celebrate the New Year].\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Haile and other leaders of the nonprofit Ethiopian Community Services<\/a> started a public Enkutatash celebration in San Jos\u00e9 a decade ago. It\u2019s an opportunity for Ethiopians who have recently arrived to meet new people and not experience the same isolation she once felt, Haile said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they come to the U.S., they maybe get lost. They miss all their support groups,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know what others are going through while they\u2019re trying to adjust to Western culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haile quickly gathered hundreds of children to the stage to sing \u201cAbebayehosh,\u201d a traditional song celebrating the new year in Amharic \u2014 one of the many languages spoken in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

The kids who were not on stage were playing soccer nearby in the park. Many are part of Maleda Youth Soccer Club, created in 2004<\/a> by Ethiopian families in the South Bay who wanted a safe place for their kids to both play and learn more about their heritage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among the club\u2019s alumni is professional soccer player Naomi Girma \u2014 currently center back for England\u2019s Women\u2019s Super League club Chelsea FC and a strong contender for the U.S. Women\u2019s National Soccer Team. Girma grew up in San Jos\u00e9 and credits Maleda for helping kick-start<\/a> her passion for soccer.<\/p>\n

The community works hard to make sure younger generations know their heritage, Hawi Desda said. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she would travel across the Bay Area to different religious and athletic events led by other Ethiopian families. Now, Desda lives in San Jos\u00e9 and was attending the Enkutatash celebration with friends she met at church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many events for folks growing up within the diaspora that don\u2019t have access to what\u2019s happening back in Ethiopia,\u201d she said. \u201cShout out to our community for creating such spaces for young people to be in community with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\u2018Like home away from home\u2019\n<\/p>\n

For more than 40 years, the Bay Area has been home to this thriving Ethiopian community that reflects the country\u2019s immense cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity.<\/p>\n

Many families who first moved to the region in the \u201980s and \u201990s were fleeing Ethiopia\u2019s civil war and found economic opportunities in Silicon Valley, building the electronic components for personal computers during the first dot-com boom. Other families brought with them cherished family recipes and opened restaurants, helping to make the Bay Area one of the country\u2019s top hubs for Ethiopian cuisine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even folks visiting from far away were impressed by Sunday\u2019s celebrations. \u201cIt\u2019s like home away from home,\u201d said Samry Derje, who was visiting San Jos\u00e9 from northern Virginia, part of the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area \u2014 another major Ethiopian enclave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Genet Hailegiogirgis and her daughter pose for a portrait wearing matching outfits at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alex Feke (left) and his daughters pose for a portrait with the Ethiopian flag at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San Jos\u00e9 on Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

According to city officials, there are more than 25,000 people of Ethiopian origin living in San Jos\u00e9. Across Santa Clara County, that number is estimated to rise to over 30,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love about the community is how tight-knit it is,\u201d said San Jos\u00e9 Mayor Matt Mahan, who also spoke at the celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us in America live much more isolated lives, and the sense of community and the way that people care for each other is really beautiful,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to learn here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the sun started to set over the celebrations, Arena Green East and the Guadalupe River flowing nearby shone with a yellow that rivaled the adey abeba flower.<\/p>\n

And as families said their goodbyes and began to leave for home, Haile made sure to remind them: \u201cSee you next year!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands showed up to the South Bay\u2019s celebration this weekend, with plenty of music, soccer and adey abeba…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,90,89],"class_list":["post-464675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}