The Finding of the True Cross

Ah, yes. We have been here before. Yet another Ethiopian holiday filled with too early morning rising, innocent animal slaughtering (Exhibit A), too much t’ela (aka dirty juice, black water, local beer) drinking (Exhibit B), shoulder dancing (Exhibit C), white dress wearing (Exhibit D), please-no-more-food uttering (Exhibit E), and multiple family household visiting. Same old stuff, just a different name. This particular holiday is called Meskel (“cross”). Ask a fellow Ethiopian what the purpose of this holiday is exactly and you may get a blank stare or the following answer “it is about the cross” like I did. It is unfair to define a word using the same word you are defining. So, I decided to do my own research. I found several variations to the story and I can’t decide which one to believe. I don’t think it really matters.

Some of you may have heard that the Arc of the Covenant rests in the lands of Ethiopia, specifically Axum. A legend many of us like to entertain. It is supposedly in a room protected by one sole priest. The priest is not allowed to leave once he enters, thus, we never know whether or not it is actually there. More on this later.  But apparently Ethiopians are the lucky receivers of much Biblical paraphernalia. How they come about acquiring it and whether or not it is actually here varies depending on who you talk to. Let’s pretend though. Meskel commemorates the finding of the “True Cross” by Queen Helena. By “True Cross” I mean the one that Jesus himself was crucified on. Not the entire thing, I think just the left side (bystander’s perspective), but it is true and it is a part of the cross, so we go along with it.

Meskel is a two-day event, starting on September 26 of every year. The first day there is a lot of cross burning . Hm. Well, that doesn’t sound right. Essentially they create a bonfire with a cross affixed on top (Exhibit F). The smoke created by the bonfire is apparently how the Queen came about finding the True Cross (Exhibit G). She followed the direction of the smoke, found part of the cross, and over the years it made its way to the Wollo province in Ethiopia to be buried. The rest is history. We also try to predict the fate of next year by watching the direction the burning cross falls. This is all speculation, but North means peace, South means prosperity, East means war, and West means famine. Most people, including myself, don’t know which way is which, but once they find out I’m pretty sure they rig the whole thing. The second day is when you get the meat sweats. The rest is best told by your pit latrine.