Meskal festival in Ethiopia

Meskel - La vraie croix Gondar
Meskal festival – Discovery of the True Cross is a religious national holiday Ethiopian Orthodox Church which is celebrated on September 27

If you are looking for an Orthodox religious event in Ethiopia, Meskal is a very special example among the various pilgrimages and festivities offered by this singular country in the Horn of Africa.

Maskel’s story

Meskal commemorates the discovery of the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified by Empress Helena (Saint Helena), mother of Constantine the Great in the 4th century.

According to legend, Empress Helena had an epiphany in a dream. She sees that she must make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried.

So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to fetch wood and make a huge pile of it. After adding incense, the fire was lit and the smoke rose high into the sky before returning to earth exactly where the Cross had been buried.

The festival is known as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in other Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. Churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrate the annual feast on September 14.

Respect for traditions

Ethiopia, for its part, celebrates Meskal on September 27 by lighting a huge fire which represents “the cross” called “Demera” in Amharic, decorated with daisies.

In all the cities, all the villages in the four corners of Ethiopia, this is a unique opportunity for Ethiopians to come together in great moments of joy. This “pyre” is prepared the day before by the population and the next day the cross is set on fire to the rhythms of songs and dances. Charcoal collected from the remains of the fire is then collected and used by worshipers to draw the shape of a cross on their foreheads.

Meskel - La vraie croix Gondar

Meskel – La vraie croix Ethiopie

But then why celebrate the “true Cross”?

According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the reason for this festival in the church calendar is to believe that part of the true cross was brought back to Ethiopia and is treasured in the Amba Geshen mountains, which themselves have a cross shape.

Meskel - La vraie croix Gondar

Meskel – La vraie croix Ethiopie

Know more : Some traditions indicate that Amba Geshen was used as a prison where the male heirs of the Emperor of Ethiopia were imprisoned, particularly under the Zagwe dynasty (reign from 900 to 1270). The most famous king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, is credited with having built the monolithic rock-hewn churches of Lalibela (12th and 13th centuries).

This event can be experienced anywhere in Ethiopia, emblematic cities such as Gondar, Lalibela, Axum or Addis Ababa remain the privileged sites to soak up this moment of religious fervor unique in Ethiopia.

Extrait Meskel – Gondar