The Adwa Victory Day ( am, የዐድዋ ድል ቀን) is a

national holiday National holiday may refer to: * National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment *Public holiday, a holiday established by law, usually a day off for at least a portion of the workforce, ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

which is celebrated on 2 March, in commemoration of

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

victory against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

's colonization effort at the

Battle of Adwa The Battle of Adwa (; ti, ውግእ ዓድዋ; , also spelled ''Adowa'') was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The d ...

in 1896. Paying tribute to the Ethiopian army, the celebration involves parades and dramatic and artistic performances reflecting Ethiopian culture and related subjects. The Adwa Victory Day is strongly associated with symbol of Pan-Africanism and aspiration to

black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

Celebration

Celebration involves parades in many places and cultural reflection wherever people gathered. Artistic and dramatic performances are also presented, such as kererto, shilela and fukera. All schools, banks, post offices and government offices are closed, with the exception of health facilities. Some taxi and public transportation services choose not to operate on this day, and shops are normally open but most close earlier than usual. In the capital

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, government officials, patriots, foreign diplomats and the public gather at Menelik Square while Ethiopian Police Orchestra play patriotic songs. Male performers often wear

Jodhpurs Jodhpurs, in their modern form, are tight-fitting trousers to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff, and are worn primarily for horse riding. The term is also used as slang for a type of short riding boot, also called a ''paddock boot'' or ...

and various types of vest; they carry the Ethiopian flag and various patriotic banners and placards, as well as traditional Ethiopian shields and swords called

Shotel A shotel (Ge'ez: ) is a curved sword originating in northern Ethiopia. The curve on the blade varies from the Persian shamshir, adopting an almost semicircular shape. The blade is flat and double-edged with a diamond cross-section. The blade is ab ...

. Female performers wear traditional dress called Habesha kemis and some wear black gowns over all, while other place royal crowns on their heads to represent Empress

Taytu Taytu Betul ( am, ጣይቱ ብጡል; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in anti-colonial resistance during the l ...

. The celebration takes place not only in Addis Ababa , but also other cities such as

Bahir Dar Bahir Dar ( amh, ባሕር ዳር, 3=sea shore) is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The ci ...

Debre Markos Debre Markos ( am, ደብረ ማርቆስ, Däbrä Marḳos lit: ''Mount of St. Mark'') is a city, separate woreda, and administrative seat of the East Gojjam Zone in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Etymology Originally named Manqwarar (lit: Cold Place ...

and

Adwa Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...

itself. Patriotic music plays a part as well, for example Gigi's ballad dedicated to the Battle of Adwa and Teddy Afro's " Tikur Sew" are frequently played during the celebration. During the 2023 celebration, a clash erupted between security forces and the people involving the dispersion of tear gas. Police obstructed the road leading to both squares. In St. George's Cathedral, police fired tear gas to congregants and clergies while conducting an annual feast of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. One person named Mekuanent Wodaj died and many injured by stampede. Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...

blamed "unspecified entities for things that gone wrong during Adwa Victory Celebration in Addis Ababa."

References

{{Reflist Public holidays in Ethiopia