LONG TIME AGO.......
Faranjis were also allowed to have candles:)
Look - faranjis!!!!
Thousands of candles....
Parading!
The chronology of this blog is really messed up now, but I’m going to make an honest effort to get back on track. The days are just too busy for me to be able to sit down and write about what’s happening, but now I don’t really have a choice. And it’s probably good for me to sit down and try to sort out what has been happening lately.
So – first thing first.
Meskel- 28th of September.
This day is a religious holiday in Ethiopia, and they are celebrating this by making big bonfires and in Addis people from all the orthodox churches walk in this big parade at Meskel Square, where they also have fireworks to end off the whole seremony with.
Ok, wikipedia does this better than I do, so here it goes:
"Meskel - in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, is an annual religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Eleni (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Meskel occurs on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (27 September, Gregorian calendarr, or 28 Septemberr in leap yearss). "Meskel" (or "Meskal" or "Mesqel", there are various ways to transliteratee from Ge'ez to Latin script) is Ge'ezz for "cross".
The festival is known as Feast of the exaltation of the holy cross in other Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. The churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrate the feast on 14 September.
The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni had a revelation in a dream. She was told that the she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried."
The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni had a revelation in a dream. She was told that the she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried."
Ok - so we were there. At Meskel Square, with thousands of other people. Quite a nice experience, and beautiful when they all lit their candles:)
1 comment:
Oj, hehe, her kom det mer bilder ja:p E jo litt festlig det øversta der hvis du vett bakgrunnen for mitt skeptiska smil;) Va gøy med de der kvidingane plutselig står midt i saueflokken:) Kult!!!
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