Ethiopians Celebrate Demera on the Eve of Meskel
Ethiopians Celebrate Demera on the Eve of Meskel
On Saturday, Ethiopians gathered around great bonfires for Demera, the eve of Meskel—the feast of the Finding of the True Cross.
Meskel means “cross.” Tradition holds that in the fourth century Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, was shown in a vision to light a fire; its smoke would reveal where Christ’s Cross was buried. Demera reenacts that fire.
A conical pyre of wood, grass, and yellow Meskel daisies is built and lit at dusk. Smaller fires burn in churches and homes. Meskel itself falls the next day, 27 September.
The fire honors the Cross. The name demera means gathering. Before it is lit, quarrels are meant to be settled. Families come home. In 2013 UNESCO listed the feast as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Watch videos from a Sputnik Africa correspondent to experience the vibrant Meskel celebrations throughout the day. Highlights include a performance by the Russian Orthodox Church Choir and the magnificent Demera lighting ceremony at Meskel Square, officiated by His Holiness Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
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