Kat's Ethio-Blog: Meskel: Ethiopian Orthodox Religious Holiday, AKA Long Weekend!!

September 27th marks the celebration of Meskel, The Finding of the True Cross. This annual religious holiday commemorates the discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified by Queen Helena (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Ethiopians have been celebrating this day for a millennium. Paul and I were happy to be here for our 1st Meskel. The celebration starts the night before with thousands (and I mean thousands!) of onlookers gathering in Meskel Square to witness the burning of a large bonfire or demera. The demera is topped by a cross to which flowers are tied. The flowers are yellow Meskel daisies. Orthodox Priests in full ceremonial dress sing and dance around the bonfire . Some maintain that the direction of the smoke and the final collapse of the demera indicate the course of future events. This type of folklore is reminiscent of Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog who's shadow has the power to predict another 6 weeks of Winter or the beginning of Spring. I guess if you believe that then the collapse of the demera would be significant. Paul and I parked up the hill from Meskel Square at the Hilton and walked towards the Square. Paul was busy snapping pics while I collected leaflets from people shoving them in my hands. The flyers (all in Amharic) meant nothing to me, but it seemed to make them happy that I took them. The closer we got to the Square, the greater the volume of people. There were also lots of people in ceremonial dress walking down the main street. Closer to the tall demera there were groups from various churches, dressed in long robes, who would ultimately light the bonfire. This being the location of the biggest bonfire also meant the most people, but throughout the city and on neighborhood streets people also built smaller bonfires adorned with the yellow Meskel flowers. By this point we had seen and experienced enough of the celebration. The volume of people was becoming a bit intimidating and I was more than satisfied to watch the burning of the demera from a TV screen. We retraced our steps back to the Hilton, a bit harder this way as we were heading up hill. From our vantage point at the Hilton we sat and enjoyed watching the lighting ceremony, our comfort zone restored. We also enjoyed the best pizza we have had so far in Addis. The key appears to ask for extra toppings, notably sauce and cheese.

Friday, September 27th is actually Meskel and we ( especially Paul) enjoyed the fact that it was an official day off. Aynalem and her husband Bariket invited us for lunch for a traditional Ethiopian meal. Her brother Tedros was visiting so he joined us as well. I am quite pleased that I appear to be getting the knack of using injera as an all purpose fork, knife and spoon. I am by no means proficient (yet or maybe never will), but for now I can scoop up most of my food with minimal mess and embarrassment. The meal was delicious and we were more than satisfied as Aynalem and Bariket tried to encourage us to eat more and more. The meal ends with the customary coffee ceremony. The coffee, served in small cups is accompanied by freshly popped popcorn and traditional Ethiopian bread. It is also traditional to have 3 cups, so all said, Paul and I were more than satisfied when it was time to extend our thanks (ahmessugenalew) and say good bye (Dehna hug and Dehna hugni). Of course we settled for Thank you very much and Happy Meskel, My Amharic, like eating with injera still has a long ways to go.