Celebration of Timkat in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Timkat (also Timket or Timqat) is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 19 (or 20 on Leap Year), following the Ethiopian calendar. Timkat celebrates the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. This festival is best known for its ritual reenactment of baptism. During the ceremonies of Timkat, the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant which is present on every Ethiopian altar is reverently wrapped in rich cloth and born in procession on the head of the priest. Crowds of revellers, all dressed in white, dance and sing in the streets to the beating of drums. The Tabot, which is otherwise rarely seen by the laity, represents the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah when he came to the Jordan for baptism. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated near a stream or pool early in the morning (around 2 a.m.). Then the nearby body of water is blessed towards dawn and sprinkled on the participants, some of whom enter the water and immerse themselves, symbolically renewing their baptismal vows.
