---
title: "Timket in Ethiopia | Taste of Ethiopia"
description: "Explore Timket in Ethiopia: its date, meaning and traditions, with a live countdown and cultural guide from Taste of Ethiopia."
url: "https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/events/timket"
---

National religious holiday and UNESCO heritage

# Timket

ጥምቀት

Timket, Ethiopian Epiphany, fills streets and waterside gathering places with processions, song and the blessing of water.

19 Jan 2027 - 20 Jan 2027

**\--** days  **\--** hours  **\--** minutes  **\--** seconds

Ter 11, 2019 E.C. · Addis Ababa time

![An Ethiopian family watching the Timket celebration](https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/assets/events/timkat.webp)

Photo: [Esrombegashaw, CC BY-SA 4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ethiopian_epiphany.jpg)

CALENDAR NOTE

Tir 11 is observed nationally on 19 January; programmes begin on Ketera, the day before.

[View the full cultural calendar](https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/events)

01 · MEANING

## What it means.

Timket commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan. At its centre are tabots, sacred replicas of the Ark of the Covenant kept in Ethiopian Orthodox churches.

02 · TRADITION

## How it is marked.

On Ketera, the eve of Timket, priests carry each tabot in a richly covered procession to water. After overnight prayer, water is blessed and sprinkled over the congregation before the tabots return to their churches.

03 · EXPERIENCE

## What you may see.

Gondar's Fasilides Bath is the most famous setting, but Timket is celebrated nationwide. White clothing, embroidered umbrellas, drums, sistrums and bright clerical vestments make the processions unmistakable.

[Next in the cultural year **Ethiopian Martyrs' Day**](https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/events/yekatit-12)

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