Celebration of Irreecha Oromo

Irreecha (also called Irreessa or Dhibaayyuu), is thanksgiving holiday celebrating the end of the winter in Oromia Region, Ethiopia.^[3]

 The Oromo people celebrate Irreecha to thank Waaqa (God) for the blessings and mercies they have received throughout the previous year. The Irreecha festival is celebrated every year at the beginning of Birraa (Spring), new season after the dark and rainy winter season. It is attended by hundreds of thousands people.^[4] The thanksgiving is celebrated at sacred lakes across Oromia and Hora Harsadi, Bishoftu, Oromia as a whole. Once at the lake, festival-goers immerse freshly cut green grass and the flowers they are carrying and sprinkle themselves and place in water.^[5]

In 2019, the festival was celebrated in the nation's and Oromia's capital Addis Ababa for the first time in 150 years, followed by Irreecha in Bishoftu.^[6] The 2020 Irreecha in Addis Ababa was celebrated by around 5,000 people due to political tension and the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7] Irreecha is also celebrated around the world where diaspora Oromos live especially in North America and Europe.

Many people interpreted the Irrecha festival of the Oromo people as a festival of difficulty period between the month of June and September. But the reality is not as many as exaggerated today. But the Irrecha festival of the festival of welcoming the expected seeds and friutes of prosperity, and peace. The Oromo people also consider the winter rainy season of June to September is a time of difficulty for communications, with families, friends due to heavy rain which could cause swelling rivers and floods that may drown people, cattle, crop, and flood homes. Also, family relationships will suffer during winter rain as they can't visit each other because of swelling rivers. In addition, winter time could be a time of hunger for some because the previous harvest collected in January is running short and the new harvest is not ripe yet. Because of this, some families may endure food shortages during the winter. In Birraa (Spring in Oromoland), this shortage ends as many food crops especially maize is ripe and families can eat their fill. Other crops like potato, barley, etc. will also be ripe in Birraa. Some disease types like malaria also break out during rainy winter time. Because of this, the Oromos see winter as a difficult season. It does not mean the Oromo people hate rain or the winter season at all. Even when there is a shortage of rain, they pray to Waaqa (God) for rain.