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According to the Ethiopian Orthodox calendar,  the birth of Jesus is celebrated on January 6. This is an important religious event when believers go to church and have feasts at home with family and friends.  Timket (celebrating both the Epiphany when the Wise Men visited baby Jesus and the baptism of Jesus), is a much more public, festive Ethiopian holiday. It is celebrated on the eve of the 18th of January and continues on the 19th of January. Some Churches also celebrate on the 20th.  Around areas with Orthodox churches, streets are bedazzled with green, yellow and red streamers, lights and flags. On the afternoon of the 18th, priests ceremoniously walk the Tabots from their church to a common area...

The terms “pashmina” and “cashmere” are in common use today, and are applied to a wide variety of textiles. Of particular concern is the fact that “pashmina” has become a generic term for any scarf or shawl, ranging from cheap viscose scarves available in tourist shops to some of the most prized and sought after textiles in the world. Pashmina first got its name from Persian travellers and traders passing through the Kashmir region. The Persian word “pashm” means wool. The anglicised term ‘cashmere’ derives from the name Kashmir.  Genuine pashmina originally came from the high altitudes - up to 15000 metres - of Laddakh (Leh in India and Tibet). The fibre was hand sheared from the underbelly of the...