The Irreecha thanksgiving Festival is celebrated by the Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group. Participants from across the country flock to the capital, Addis Ababa.

After holding up green grass and flowers as symbols of hope and prosperity, the participants performed the Irreecha ceremony and held several Oromo cultural events with songs and attractive and varied dance performances.

On this day, the Oromo people thank God because they believe they survived the heavy rains and saw the beautiful September sky, heralding the approaching spring. The Ethiopian calendar lags several years behind the Gregorian calendar, which most other countries follow.

Participants wore colorful traditional Oromo clothing and danced in the streets of Addis Ababa while singing cultural songs. An estimated million participants traveled from other cities across Ethiopia each year to participate in this festival.

Irreecha is part of the Gada system, as the Gada system is registered as an intangible cultural world heritage.

The Irreecha festival takes place every year on October 5th in Addis Ababa and October 6th in Bishoftu town. (The date may vary by one day every 4 years)