Ethiopians celebrate Meskel and call for peace amid renewed fighting

Thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians gathered in Addis Ababa Saturday to celebrate Meskel, filling the capital's Meskel Square with singing, prayer and religious processions before the lighting of a towering bonfire, Demera.

The annual festival commemorates the finding of the cross on which Christians believe Jesus was crucified. According to church tradition, Roman Empress Helena discovered the cross in the fourth century after lighting a bonfire and following its smoke.

Meskel, which means "cross" in Amharic, is one of the most important celebrations for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

The lighting of the Demera bonfire is at the heart of the festival.

This year's celebration came as renewed fighting between Ethiopian federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, raised fears of another major conflict in the country's north.

The latest hostilities have badly undermined the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in November 2022. That agreement ended a two-year war in which hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have died because of fighting, famine and the collapse of health services.

Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Tigray this week after Tigrayan fighters took control of the airport in the regional capital, Mekelle. Residents also reported internet disruptions and the closure of roads linking Tigray with the neighboring Afar region.

Against that backdrop, worshippers at the celebration in Addis Ababa used the occasion to call for peace.

"Peace is essential for everything. Without it, we can neither celebrate our holidays nor engage in meaningful dialogue,” said Fikreab Lebeza, an Ethiopian Orthodox deacon.

Sara Dinkayehu, a business woman said she had come to pray for peace to prevail across the country.

"Peace is vital for our country. As people deeply rooted in faith and values, we Ethiopians should offer earnest prayers for peace during sacred celebrations such as Meskel," said Sara Dinkayehu.

Aba Thomas Abeje, an Orthodox priest, compared national unity with the wood of the Demera, which is bound together before being set alight.

"Let us cast aside division and war and stand firmly united as one,” he said.

The celebration also attarcted tourists. Jino Kim, a South Korean tourist, was mesmerized during the processions.

"I can't believe it, because in South Korea we don't have those kind of big events; every Ethiopian people came out, and they're on the same spot, and they celebrate all together like just all. Just awesome!”