Heritage news
TableFrom the royal table to street food, Cambodian chefs reviving Khmer culinary heritageCarnivalMiami Carnival brings Caribbean pageantry, cultural celebration to Central Broward ParkHoly daysBallston Quarter Diwali Celebration: Date, Activities And DetailsSeasonsHarvest festivalCarnivalCelebration students on parade honoring Hispanic nationsCarnivalConnections, Culture Celebrated: Pasadena Latina Heritage Parade and Festival returns Oct. 10ArtsAnnual folk dance festival wraps up Mexico vacationFestivalsSheep, Basque culture, and 30 years of Idaho traditionHoly daysDiwali Celebration 2026Holy daysHTX Diwali Returns to POST Houston With a Free Festival of Lights CelebrationTableFrom the royal table to street food, Cambodian chefs reviving Khmer culinary heritageCarnivalMiami Carnival brings Caribbean pageantry, cultural celebration to Central Broward ParkHoly daysBallston Quarter Diwali Celebration: Date, Activities And DetailsSeasonsHarvest festivalCarnivalCelebration students on parade honoring Hispanic nationsCarnivalConnections, Culture Celebrated: Pasadena Latina Heritage Parade and Festival returns Oct. 10ArtsAnnual folk dance festival wraps up Mexico vacationFestivalsSheep, Basque culture, and 30 years of Idaho traditionHoly daysDiwali Celebration 2026Holy daysHTX Diwali Returns to POST Houston With a Free Festival of Lights Celebration
EveryParampara

Next: about 3 Oct 2027

Irreecha

The Oromo thanksgiving: millions gather by water in Bishoftu to thank Waaqa for the end of the rains with grass and flowers.

Irreechaa
Photo: Mohammed Kassahun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When is Irreecha in 2027?

Irreecha 2027 is on Sunday, 3 October 2027. The date follows the moon or a local calendar, so it can move by a day. Other years: 2026, Sunday, 4 October 2026; 2028, Sunday, 1 October 2028.

About Irreecha

Irreecha is the thanksgiving festival of the Oromo people, held at the end of the rainy season, around the first weekend of October. People gather at lakes and rivers, the most famous being Lake Hora Harsadi at Bishoftu, where millions attend. Dressed in traditional clothes, they carry fresh grass, called qillee, and flowers, and dip them in the water, sprinkling it and thanking Waaqa, the one God, for the rains and the new season, and praying for peace and a good harvest. Elders in leadership, the abbaa gadaa, lead the prayers, and women sing songs of blessing, with the drums. Afterwards, families share food and drink, such as the fermented drink, borde, and the community dances. UNESCO has listed it. The exact date varies each year.

Irreecha dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearIrreecha date
2026Sunday, 4 October 2026
2027Sunday, 3 October 2027
2028Sunday, 1 October 2028

This date follows the moon or a local calendar and can move by a day, so check with a local source nearer the time.

What is eaten

  • borde
  • injera
  • dabo

Traditions of Irreecha

GadaaThe traditional system of age-set governance.

Also part of it, and being written: Oromo people (The people who keep it.), Waaqeffanna (The traditional Oromo faith.).

More marked on Irreecha

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHarvest festival A thanks for the gathered crop, kept with church meals, songs and shared foodSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Irreecha" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.