Ethiopians celebrate their new year, Enkutatash: Party like it's 2018

Photos of new year celebrations in a country with a calendar seven years behind that followed in the West.

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These yellow "adey ababa" blooms are associated with the celebration. They grow wild around the capital, Addis Ababa, at this time of year. Small bunches have been selling for around 50 Ethiopian birr ($0.35; £0.25).

The seven-year gap comes down to the fact that the birth year of Jesus Christ is calculated differently in Ethiopia. When the Catholic Church amended its calculation in 500 AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not.

But the celebrations - known as Enkutatash - are not tied to the church, and for everyone in the country it is a time to celebrate. Here vendors in Addis Ababa come in from the countryside to sell adey ababa and also freshly cut grass - both of which are used during traditional coffee ceremonies.

The birthplace of coffee is widely considered to have been in the highlands of Ethiopia. The grass and flowers are used as decoration for the ceremonies during which the beans are roasted over an open fire, ground and then brewed in a clay pot.