Addis Ababa, October 4, 2026 (FMC) — Irreecha Hora Harsade, the Oromo thanksgiving festival, was celebrated colorfully in Bishoftu, drawing large crowds to the lakeside and public gathering places across the town.
The celebration began with traditional blessings by the Aba Gadas, who invoked peace, unity and prosperity for participants as the festival got underway.
At Hora Harsade Lake, thousands of festival-goers gathered in a vibrant display of Oromo cultural heritage, dressed in traditional attire and taking part in songs, prayers and thanksgiving rituals.
The celebration also extended to public spaces across Bishoftu, where large congregations came together to observe and participate in the festivities.
Irreecha is a traditional Oromo thanksgiving celebration associated with the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the harvest season. It forms an important part of the Oromo Gada system, which is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The festival provides an occasion for communities to express gratitude, renew social bonds and pass cultural traditions from one generation to the next.
A day earlier, Irreecha Hora Finfinnee was celebrated in Addis Ababa under the theme “Irreecha for National Renaissance,” bringing together hundreds of thousands of people in a colorful celebration of Oromo culture, heritage and unity.
The Hora Harsade celebration in Bishoftu likewise brought people together along the shores of the lake, where traditional songs, blessings and cultural ceremonies created a vibrant atmosphere of thanksgiving, togetherness and shared aspirations for the future.