Ethiopians celebrate Christmas as natural calamities and conflict take their toll

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christians are celebrating Christmas with prayers for peace in the Horn of Africa nation that has faced persistent conflict in recent years.

Ethiopians follow the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar, used by Catholic and Protestant churches. They traditionally celebrate by slaughtering animals and joining family members to break the fast after midnight.

The patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Mathias, in his televised Christmas Eve message called for reconciliation and peace in a nation where conflict has been often fueled by ethnic strife. Different parts of Ethiopia recently have also faced natural calamities, including mudslides. Earthquakes last week in the remote regions of Afar, Amhara and Oromia have displaced thousands.

Despite the signing of a peace agreement to end the armed conflict in the northern region of Tigray in 2022, recurring conflicts in Amhara, Oromia and elsewhere have caused widespread suffering and forced 9 million children to drop out of school, according to UNICEF.

Almaz Zewdie, who was among thousands of Orthodox Christians attending ceremonies in Addis Ababa’s Medhanyalem Church, said she was praying for peace. She was draped in an all-white traditional attire to mark the end of a 43-day fasting period and the birth of Jesus Christ.

“I lost friends and my livelihood,” said Zewdie, a merchant from the tourist town of Gondar, speaking of the toll of the conflict in Amhara, where government troops have been fighting members of a local militia.

Isaias Seyoum, a priest in Addis Ababa’s Selassie Church, said the celebration of Christmas is more than just feasting and merrymaking. It is also a time to share meals with needy people and help those impacted by conflict, including many sheltering in Addis Ababa, he said.

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)