Borkena
Updated on Sunday Oct 5, 2025 at 12:02 P.M. Toronto Time
Toronto – Ethnic Oromos have on Saturday celebrated Irreechaa – annual thanks giving practice in the tradition of Waqe Fena religion.
The religion does not seem to have a scripture as in the cases of Abrahamic religious traditions or religious practices in the orient.
The celebration, according to the Oromo culture, symbolizes transition from the rainy and foggy season to bright days of this season.
The Oromo religious holiday ( there are voices including from Oromo that tend to see it rather as a cultural expression) was celebrated in Bishoftu (Debre Zeit) and the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Irreechaa celebration in Addis Ababa is only for the 7th time.
Traditionally, it is celebrated on the shores of Lake Hora in Bishofu or natural water bodies including river sides. In Addis Ababa, an artificial water pool like structure was constructed for the festival after Abiy Ahmed became prime minister.
The celebration in Addis Ababa has been attracting millions of people. However, a great proportion of it, if not absolute majority, are coming from different towns across the Oromia region of Ethiopia.
The Addis Ababa City Administration has been involving itself in the coordination of the celebration. Some even say that the city spends tax payers money on the holiday. Critics, some of them took it to social media, have been criticizing the government for making the Waqe Fena religious practice like a state religion.
What is clear is that Irreechaa celebration involves a major security arrangement as far as the government is concerned. Police reported on Saturday that the celebration was peaceful.
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BBC’s article with photos tells about Irreechaa much better than this article and proves that the annual celebration is organically an Ethiopian first and foremost in its making and Oromo in its beginning. There is nothing hostile and forbidding(reclusive) about it. That is why it is attracting attendants from places afar and away from the old country. That is one of the reasons why that country is seen as the gem of the colored. Bask in the photos in the BBC’S article.
bbc.com/news/articles/cd6399enj39o