gift of jewels...

Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash)

*Enkutatash means the "gift of jewels". When Makeda, Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her bolts by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated - in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.

*(adopted description)

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But we are gonna do things a bit unorthodox around these parts. For those interested, please join me in sending a randomly selected person a greeting card in the post? It can be personally hand-crafted, a photocard, photograph, or even a purchased postcard or greeting card. We must all agree, however, to fully respect each others personal information and work.

If you wish to participate, please leave a comment on this post by August 30, 2009 (including the link to your blog). All participants should also email me directly at necessaryroom@gmail.com with their snail mail address. I will randomly select the intended recipient of your graciousness from amongst the participants. For added mystique, I will send you a personal email shortly after the deadline with your recipient's information. Please know that your information will not be shared with anyone other than the person selected to send your "gift of jewels".

All gift of jewels should be postmarked on or before September 11, 2009, the Ethiopian New Year.

So, wanna join in the fun?

*to see the list of participants, click here.

UPDATE:  give thanks for joining me in creating this wonderful experience.  it will forever warm my heart.  one love. Se'lah.