Meskal Celebrations

Thursday night was the celebration of the Finding of the True Cross in Ethiopian Orthodox belief. They celebrate the story of Princess Helena (Constantine's Mother) who came to Israel and found the cross that Jesus was crucified on. Every year, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians build a giant bonfire known as a Demera to help reenact the story. The story goes that Helena lit a fire, and the smoke arched through the sky and pointed to the place where the cross is buried. Thus the Ethiopians also build a fire to commemorate this day. We went to the downtown center, where most of the citizens of Addis come to celebrate. There could easily have been a million people there. They were handing out candles when we got there, and right before the bonfire was lit everyone lit their candles and the square erupted in light. Then the Patriarch lit the bonfire, and the fireworks started. I made it back to my homestay just in time to light the demera that we had there. It was smaller, but more intense because I was so close. The children/younger generation of the neighborhood are in charge of the meskal celebrations, and after the bonfire everyone sat around and ate lots of meat.