Happy Meskel Celebration to all Ethiopians!!!

HAPPY MESKEL FEAST!

Demera

It's time again to celebrate another grand celebration which is celebrated throughout the country by Ethiopian Christians! Meskel or the feast of finding true cross is a religious holiday celebrated annually by Christians in Ethiopia. It's a way of commemorating the finding true cross by Queen Helena in the 4th century.


This event happens annually on Meskerem 17 according to Ethiopian Calendar (which is equivalent to September 27 in the Gregorian calendar). Therefore, it coincides with the World Tourism Day, which falls on the same day, except during the leap years according to Ethiopian Calendar in which case the Meskel occurs on September 28.

During the Meskel feast, all christian family in Ethiopia celebrate together with their neighbors. This feast is also known as the Feast of exaltation of the holy cross in  Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches in other countries.The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or 'Demera', based on the belief that Queen Eleni(Helena) had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross of Jesus Christ had been buried.

This Demera-procession takes place in the early evening the day before Meskel or on the day itself, according to local traditions. The firewood is decorated with daisies prior to the celebration. Afterwards, charcoal from the remains of the fire is collected and used by the faithful to mark their foreheads with the shape of a cross (compare Ash Wednesday). There are a number of beliefs with regard to Demera. Accordingly, some believe that it "marks the ultimate act in the cancellation of sins, while others hold that the direction of the smoke and the final collapse of the heap indicate the course of future events -- just as the cloud of smoke the Lord over the Tabernacle offered guidance to the children of Israel (Exod. 40:34-38).

Ethiopian Cross

Besides its religious significance, Meskel has a special festive atmosphere to it because it comes in the wake of the Ethiopian New Year, celebrated on September 11, and heralds the end of the rainy season. Meskel also ushers in the 'Tseday' season, a season with cool, pleasant weather, when the Ethiopian countryside is covered with multitude of colors from the ripening crops, blooming wild flowers and green pasture.

In Ethiopia, eventhough all Ethiopian Christians celebrate the Meskel feast, Meskel is uniquely celebrated in Oromo,Gurghe, Wolaita, Gamo, Gofa, and some others (mainly in the southern part of the country) as some of them consider Meskel feast as a the beginning day of their New Year. 

In most of these places, the Meskel is celebrated by slaughtering a fattened oxen and preparing other cultural dishes to eat during the feast. During this time, parents buy new clothes for their children and the children play the Meskel songs at their neighborhood. In southern part of the country the feasting of Meskel continues up to three to four weeks with different activities and events of the celebration.

HAPPY FEAST!      MELKAM MESKEL!                 ENKUAN ADERESACHIHU!