Africa

Ethiopian Orthodox feasts, Maghrebi Eids, West African harvest rites, South African Heritage Day, and the diasporic celebration of Kwanzaa.

3 cultural holidays 17 countries

About this region

Ethiopian Orthodox feasts, Maghrebi Eids, West African harvest rites, South African Heritage Day, and the diasporic celebration of Kwanzaa.

Each holiday below opens onto a detail page covering its origin and meaning, traditional greetings in the original language with English translation, design tips for printable cards, a starting palette, and five ready-to-use verses. Slugs that match an entry in the wider 1,920-occasion CardVerse directory cross-link both ways.

Cultural holidays in Africa

11 September (12 in leap years)

Enkutatash

The Ethiopian new year — observed at the end of the rainy season, when the highlands turn yellow with meskel d

26 December – 1 January

Kwanzaa

A seven-night celebration of African heritage and community, founded in 1966 and now observed by millions acro

19 January (20 in years preceding a Gregorian leap year)

Timkat

The Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of the baptism of Christ — three days of processions, white shamma robes, a

Countries in this region

The CardVerse directory tracks holidays by country as well — open any country page below to see every observance the directory has indexed for it.