Meskel Holiday Celebration

As the rainy season is coming to an end this month, the Ethiopian highlands are starting to fill with a yellow daisy known as the Meskel flower.

Meskel flowers for our dining room table at the house

Meskel flowers and grass for sale along the city streets Tuesday morning

The Meskel holiday itself is an annual Ethiopian Orthodox religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross, which occurs on the 17th of Meskerem (the first month in the Ethiopian calendar). The Meskel celebration involved burning of a very large bonfire, which is connected to the belief that it was the smoke from a large fire that led to the discovery of the True Cross. The bonfire celebration took place the evening before the Meskel holiday day (Tuesday, September 27 this year), and we attended the large gathering in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa.

View upon arriving at Meskel Square.  The giant cone shaped item was what was lit on fire for the bonfire to occur as at the end of the celebration.

Unfortunately it had rained a lot on Tuesday already, by the time we arrived, and everything was mud and puddles except for the pieces of cement on the "steps" that everyone was trying to stand on for the duration of the celebration.

Things only got worse as the rain started pouring down again!

There were performances by many groups.  This group had a nice looking angel that arose among them at one point in their performance.

One of the many groups parading.

As the sun was starting to set, the crowd began to light up as people passed the flame on to each other to light sticks that many individuals had.

Once it was dark enough, it was about time for the bonfire to begin.

The bonfire began with a lot of smoke...

...and eventually it picked up into a full blaze.

For additional pictures click here.