Irrecha celebrations swept across Addis Abeba the past weekend as thousands clad in colourful cultural outfits flocked into the Mesqel Square for the festivities. The holiday often linked with thanksgiving marks the end of the rainy days and the beginning of the harvest season with gratitude and adoration to the supreme deity. September, the first month of the Ethiopian calendar was replete with consecutive holidays marked by the New Year, Mesqel, Mewlid and Irreecha. Holidays provide a brief yet sweet respite to Ethiopians bearing the brunt of double-digit inflation over the past few years.