The Morning of Renewal

The Morning of Renewal

For Zohran, the day begins in the quietude of dawn. In the heart of New York City, where the skyscrapers pierce the autumn sky, he honors the tradition of his ancestors. He begins with a small bowl of water, washing his hands and face—a symbolic act of shedding the hardships of the past 13 months (the Ethiopian calendar consists of 12 months of 30 days and one short month of 5 or 6).

In the Ethiopian diaspora, the celebration is a defiance of distance. Zohran, like thousands in New York, gathers with his community in bustling districts or private homes. The home is scrubbed clean, and the scent of buna (coffee) roasting in an iron pan signals the arrival of the new year.