Christmas decorations ,depicting the nativity of Christ ,made from bamboo and grass are offered for sale around Stadium. The Axumite king Ezana was the first Christian king in Ethiopia baptized by Frumentius, a Syrian serf who later became the first archbishop of the nation nearly 2000 years ago. Until 1950 a native Ethiopian bishop was not appointed, the patriarch of Alexandria used to appoint archbishops. With nearly two thirds of the population celebrating christmas, demand has pushed the price of a single christmas tree to a wapping 30,000 birr.