Meskel

Meskel - Finding of the True Cross September 26th, 27th and 28th)

Meskel is a Beautiful, colorful, and bright are just a few adjectives that come to mind when describing the Meskel Festival, the first big festival of the Ethiopian religious year.

The Meskel Festival is an ancient festival unique to the Christian faithful in Ethiopia and is celebrated annually. Meskel is a highly regarded and timeless festival marks the discovery of the True Cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified, and as such Christian faithful and tourists converge on the 27th of September every year or on 28th in a leap year to commemorate the celebration of the Meskel festival. The word "Meskel", is from the Ge'ez language that translates to "cross". So, the festival is a celebration of the cross.

The festival dates back to the fourth century when the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, Queen Helena, was said to have received divine guidance through a dream to the location where the True Cross of Jesus was buried. In commemorating the day, the celebration begins on the eve of the festival with the burning of a large bonfire called Demera by a procession of Christians presided over by a patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The festival is celebrated in the city alone - far from it, because even in their localities, those who cannot afford to be in the city commemorate the day by making their small Demeras. People gather and burn a torch natively called Chibo in every locality, wait for it to burn to ashes, and give their interpretations depending on the ashes' direction. The following day, the actual Meskel festival, the people go to the place where they burnt the Demera, pick up the ashes, and use them to draw the sign of the cross on their foreheads,