Ethiopians are generally very religious. I’ve arrived in Addis for 3 weeks and I’ve had a few Holy days or “Holidays” already. Life is good.
Last Thursday night I joined an estimated 200 000 + people at Meskel Square to celebrate the Meskel holiday. Meskel, is the religious celebration of the discovery of the True Cross in the 4th century by Queen Eleni aka Saint Helena. According to the Orthodox story, Queen Eleni was inspired by a dream to light a giant bonfire of wood. And when she did, the smoke rose up high in the sky and returned to the ground at the exact same spot where the Cross had been buried. Aside from Easter, Meskel is the largest religious celebration of the year.
This year’s celebrations were marked by the lighting of a huge bonfire to re-enact the finding of the True Cross and a beautiful display of fireworks for the Millennium. Thousands of spectators braved the mud from the rainy season, huge crowds and random body searches by the Federal Police. We were not disappointed. The celebrations preceding the climatic bonfire were absolutely beautiful. Imagine standing shoulder-to-shoulder, toe-to-toe with thousands of onlookers wading in mud in peace, eagerly awaiting the cue to light their candles. In the distance I could see people passing along their flame to one another. Moments later, I was surrounded by a sea of flickering candle flames. The warm glow from the candles and the soft chanting of believers transported me to an incredibly peaceful place.
The atmosphere inspired me to pray. And during that moment, I couldn’t hear anything but my words to God. Though I’m not an Orthodox Christian, it didn’t matter. You either believe or not. Frankly, it’s the same God so why does it matter if I’m Non-Denominational or not. I was so encouraged by this sight of tolerance: absolute strangers, Ethiopians and Foreigners, standing centimeters away from one another passing the flame and just enjoying each other’s company. It’s possible, anything is possible if people are genuinely compassionate.
It was amazing.
p.s. Photographs will be on Facebook soon…
http://utoronto.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6087&l=850fe&id=515904080
Filed under: Africa, Canada, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Millennium, Life, Photography, Thoughts, Travel, Addis Ababa, candle, Ethiopia, fire, Meskel, Saint Helena
