Buhe ( Ge'ez: ቡሄ ''Buhē'') is a

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

observed by the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

and

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandri ...

on 19 August (13 Nahase in the

Ethiopian calendar The Ethiopian calendar ( am, የኢትዮጲያ ዘመን ኣቆጣጠር; Oromo: Akka Lakkofsa Itoophiyaatti; Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉደ ኣዋርሕ), or Ge'ez calendar ( Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉ ...

). On this date, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates the

Transfiguration of Jesus In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these a ...

on Mount Tabor (''Debre Tabor'' Ge'ez: ደብረ ታቦር).

Observance

Buhe celebrated by Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches on 19 August (13 Nehase in

) in commemoration of

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...

(''Debre Tabor'' in Ge'ez). Buhe is one of old age religious and cultural festival. Observations include people of the neighborhood tie a bundle of sticks together to make a

chibo A ''chibo'' (or ''chebo'') is a torch used in the Ethiopian Orthodox ceremonies of Buhe, Meskel, and Enkutatash (the Ethiopian New Year). ''Chibo'' is Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a sub ...

, and set it on fire while singing songs. The main song is called "Hoya Hoye" with one singer singing while the others follow in a rhythmic way. It involves young boys singing songs of praise outside of people's homes, in exchange for fresh bread called ''mulmul''. The boys then bless the family of the home for the following year.

References

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Christian festivals and holy days August observances {{OrientalOrthodoxy-stub