Wednesday, August 19, 2009

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)

~ ~ ~

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.

45 comments:

iasa said...

count me in

christina said...

hey this photo is amazing! just beautiful! your words take me back to a time where details were everything. i love that.
xo

Anonymous said...

would love to be part of it

Tracy said...

Those are some lovely sky jewels in the photos, Se'Lah! Do count me in on your card project, I'd love to join in! Sounds like fun. :o)

Darcel said...

I would love to participate!

beth said...

count me in...I'm on a roll !

Gayle said...

Count me in!

I love your fireworks photo!

Operaton You said...

Of course, I want in! Thanks for the history lesson.. fascinating!! Did you take this photo????

kath said...

Count me in .... puleeeeese.
xo

Shell said...

Count me in. This will be fun.

Anonymous said...

Yes, i want to participate! Great idea!

Samosas for One said...

I want to participate.

My Castle in Spain said...

Count me in dear girl !
:-)

ELK said...

i would LOVE to be part of this fun!

blessings~
elk

sunnymama said...

I love this idea! Count me in too :)

sunnymama said...

I've added your Gift of Jewels button to my sidebar with a link to here. Hope that's OK :)

julochka said...

i love this idea! count me in, please!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful idea! Can I join?

Cwybrow said...

me too please!

Lynne said...

me too please! Great idea!

An Open Heart said...

I want to participate....what a lovely idea.

;o)
S

Wanda said...

Yes! What a great idea....

paris parfait said...

Oh what fun! I'd like to play. A couple of years ago I hosted a Postcard Project, in which I sent out more than 100 postcards. It was an expensive propostion for me; I like your idea better.

Lisa Johnson said...

Please count me in! I love it! ; )

Bee said...

Julochka alerted me to this great idea. I'd love to join in.

cherie said...

i sure do! i feel like a little girl wanting to have fun!;)

Anonymous said...

I just love getting and sending mail. Count me in please. :)

Jacqui said...

Saw this on sunnymama's blog - love this idea, so have emailed you today. xx

Amelia said...

please do count me in, I am so excited!

Alycia said...

Hello, yes I'd love to participate!

Cam said...

Count me in!! I can't wait!! :)

Christine--RHP said...

oooh! I want in too!!!

Tracey said...

I almost missed this! Glad I checked the your blog today. Please count me in.

Marilyn Miller said...

I would love to play too!

robin-bird said...

i'm so glad i am in a nick of time! i think this is one challenge i can mange :) thanks for putting this together se lah!
http://robinbird.typepad.com/bird_tweets/

Janet said...

oh! so sorry i missed the deadline. would love to participate if you do this again.

The Bodhi Chicklet said...

Phew, I'm glad beth brought this to my attention. Yes, I'm in!

Sherry said...

This is an amazing idea. I would love to participate!

Kim Mailhot said...

I would love to join in the fun ! Please count me in !

spread your wings said...

i'd love to participate in this. thanks for setting such a great idea in motion

judipatootie said...

followed Bodhi Chiclets link'' count me in please
julep1940@yahoo.com

judi in South Louisiana

Lubna said...

Hi
This is such a beautiful idea, alas, I came here a bit too late.
I'm from Bangalore, South India.

Ana said...

What a beautiful event - Enkutatash. I love the idea of exchanging gifts, that sounds like a most connective kindful thing to do. I have just found your blog, and have missed the opportunity of being involved, but with that in mind I have discovered another great jewel.

gift delivery Philippines said...

Thank you so much for this lovely photos,this is absolutely a perfect gift I guess. :)

vitton

Jewellery gift set said...

Oh Dear! Wish I could have participated. Are you going to do this again this year?