Meskel!

(Our Meskel Bonfire)

A brief History

(According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, with some grammatical corrections by MCH)

Meskel has been celebrated for a millennium in Ethiopia. There are two occasions on Meskel. The first is “Demera” which is celebrated on the eve (September 25), bonfires are built topped by a cross to which Meskel daisy flowers are tied, The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church orchestrates in a ceremony to light the bonfire at Meskel Square which is the heart of Addis Ababa. Smaller “Demeras” are built at individual houses or villages, next day of “Demera” there will be Meskel festivity. In the morning of Meskel, believers use the ashes from the Demera to mark their foreheads with the sign of the Cross. The ceremony is accompanied by spiritual songs and dancing (Mezmurs). 

The Jews who lived in those days became envious of the cross, so they buried the cross and turned the place into dumping ground garbage. Over time the garbage piled up and formed a hill. The Jews did everything in their power to obscure the place where the cross was buried.

Queen Elena, the mother of Constantine the Great, decided to locate where the cross was buried and dig it up 200 years after its burial. Queen Elena prayed hard to request the will and help of God. She then headed to Jerusalem in 319 E.C to do her project. Since it had been 200 years, it was hard to locate the exact place of the burial of the Cross. She then counseled an old man named Kirakos who told her where the cross was located which was in one of the three hills in the city of Jerusalem.

Queen Elena called all the priests for mass prayers, she then lit a bonfire and put incense to it. The smoke from the bonfire billowed into the sky and then bent down to the hill where the cross was buried. She had the place dug, and three crosses were excavated. The True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified is identified for the enormous miracles it did. Queen Elena lit torches indicating her success in unearthing the Holy Cross. A piece of the True Cross was then given to the Ethiopian Emperor Dawit in the middle ages by the Patriarch of Alexandris who got hold of the part of the True Cross. Now the piece is held at Gishen Marian church, located about 70 kilometers’ northwest of Dessie in northern Ethiopia.

Celebrations at HMA

While HMA is a secular school, we recognize and educate our students about the history and meaning behind all of our national holidays, most of which are religiously oriented.

There is a tradition of singing, in the evening by the boys and in the morning by the girls.