[ad_1]
Ethiopia marked one of its most famous and colorful festivals, but drew a much smaller crowd due to the coronavirus measures.
Meskel, also known as finding the cross, is the Christian celebration that marks the finding by the Roman Empress Helena of the so-called “true cross” on which Jesus was crucified.
Typically, there are tens of thousands of people who participate in the drums, dance, and prayer.
But this year, only members of the church attended the ceremony at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa on Saturday.
The party is on the UNESCO world heritage list.
The festival is also a time when families come together and migrant workers return home.
Hundreds of thousands of people from various communities flock to the plaza dressed as priests, sing hymns and prayers and perform their unique rhythmic dance in front of the pyre.
Participants of the festival are believed to receive spiritual rewards from the celebration and blessings of the Holy Cross.
Although smaller, the celebrations continued into the evening and ended with the large bonfire known as Demera.
It is believed that the smoke from a bonfire showed Queen Eleni, as she is also known, the way to the place where the true cross was buried.
