Meskel — Finding of the True Crossመስቀል

The legend behind Meskel

The festival recalls Empress Helena (Queen Eleni), mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, who set out in the 4th century to find the cross of Christ in Jerusalem. According to tradition she was told in a dream to light a bonfire and follow its smoke; where the smoke settled, the buried cross was found. The rising smoke of the Demera re-enacts that moment every year.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church holds that a fragment of the True Cross was later brought to Ethiopia, and is kept at the monastery of Gishen Mariam. Meskel has been celebrated in Ethiopia for more than 1,600 years.

The Demera bonfire

On the eve of Meskel, communities build the Demera — a conical pyre of wood and branches, topped with Meskel daisies and often a cross. At the largest gathering, in Addis Ababa's Meskel Square, tens of thousands assemble as clergy in bright robes process, sing and circle the pyre before it is set alight. The direction in which the burning pole finally falls is read as a sign for the year to come.

In 2013, UNESCO inscribed the Meskel festival on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising its role in binding communities together.

Greeting friends and family at Meskel

A simple, warm greeting is “Melkam Meskel” (መልካም መስቀል) — “Happy Meskel.” Sharing a card is a thoughtful way to mark the day with people who cannot gather around the Demera in person.