The Timkat
The 11th day of Terr in the Ethiopian calendar, corresponding in 2020 to January 20th, is celebrated the Timkat which for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church recalls the baptism of Christ. This festival is best known for its ritual reenactment of baptism and the thousands of pilgrims that all around Ethiopia make processions chanting and dancing. The 2020 procession in the city of Bahir Dar, on lake Tana, ended in a church where the faithful stay praying and chanting till the next morning when, towards dawn, water taken from a pool, was blessed and sprinkled with pipes on the participants that so are symbolically renewing their baptismal vows. UNESCO in 2019 inscribed Timkat on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Lalibela, Ethiopia, 2020/01/23 – Bet Amanuel church, pilgrims go to pray in one of the rock-hewn churches dating back to the Axumite period. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. the priests parade in the procession with multicolored sacred robes while the deacons cover them with large embroidered umbrellas. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. At the Timkat procession thousand of people participated chanting and playing instruments. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. During the procession a mobile chapel is pushed along with a floor of carpet because the Ark of the Covenant should always be covered and never touch the ground. Dozens of people unfold carpets in front of the chapel and collect them as soon as it has passed and then bring them back to the front while a movable cover is pushed forward. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. A boy playing a trumpet during the procession of Timkat. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. near the stage where the mass is being held, a dozen priests flaunt large golden crosses. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. Ethiopian young men dancing and singing in the street with sticks during Timkat epiphany festival 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. All women at the procession dress with a typical white cotton vest. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. During the ceremonies of Timkat, the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, which is present on every Ethiopian altar, is reverently wrapped in rich cloth and borne in procession escorted by the priests. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. Children watch the ceremony from above a platform from which the next day the blessed water will be sprayed. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/19. hundreds of deacons attend the sung mass which will last until the following morning. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/20. Usually the renew of the baptism is celebrated with a bath in this pool but due the thousands of people gathering now the blessed water is sprinkled with pipes on the faithful. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/20. regardless of the cold and tiredness, the faithful pray and sing together all night. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/20.The sacred ceremony continues at night around a pool full of water that will be done sacred to be used to renew the baptism of the crowd of faithful waiting. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/20. When dawn finally comes, the faithful are still praying near the pool of sacred water. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/20. Finally in the morning the priests from various stages spray the sacred water for the baptism of the crowd. 
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. 2020/01/20. people flock to the platform to receive the holy water of baptism which is dispensed with a pump by the priests.
