यह पृष्ठ अभी हिन्दी में अनूदित नहीं हुआ है; मूल अंग्रेज़ी पाठ दिखाया जा रहा है।
Meskel
መስቀል
यूनेस्को की मानवता की अमूर्त सांस्कृतिक विरासत की सूची में शामिल
फ़ोटो: Redietmd, CC BY-SA 4.0, विकिमीडिया कॉमन्स से
At the end of the rainy season, Ethiopians commemorate the finding of the True Cross by lighting the demera — a great pyre decorated with yellow daisies — in Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square, where priests chant and dance before the patriarch sets it alight.
Smoke that shows the way
Meskel means “cross” in Amharic. The feast commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman empress Helena — Queen Eleni in Ethiopian tradition — in the fourth century. According to the story, she was told in a dream to light a bonfire and follow the smoke. She had the people of Jerusalem pile up wood, added frankincense, and the smoke rose high into the sky and came down exactly where the Cross was buried.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church holds that the Cross was found in March, but the feast was moved to September to keep it out of Lent. Part of the True Cross is believed to have been brought to Ethiopia and to be kept at Amba Geshen. The month of Meskerem also marks the end of the rains.
The demera
The celebrations centre on the demera, a conical pyre of poles surrounded by branches and torches, decorated with green grass and the yellow Abyssinian daisies that stand for the New Year. In Addis Ababa it is built in Meskel Square, named after the festival, where hundreds of thousands gather as priests in bright robes chant hymns and prayers and perform their rhythmic dance; at the climax the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church lights the fire. Afterwards the faithful collect charcoal from the ashes to mark a cross on their foreheads. Many city dwellers go home to their villages for the feast. UNESCO inscribed Meskel on its Representative List in 2013.
कब होता है
Meskel falls on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar — 27 September, or 28 September in the year before a Gregorian leap year. The demera is lit on the evening before, or in some places on the day itself.
- 26–27 सितंबर 2026AM 16 मस्केरेम 2019गणना से
- 27–28 सितंबर 2027AM 16 मस्केरेम 2020गणना से
- 26–27 सितंबर 2028AM 16 मस्केरेम 2021गणना से
- 26–27 सितंबर 2029AM 16 मस्केरेम 2022गणना से
सम्मान के साथ जाएँ
सुरक्षित रहें
- Very large crowds gather in Meskel Square. Keep valuables secure and stay aware of your surroundings.
- The UK advises against all travel to the Amhara and Tigray regions and to parts of Oromia and Afar. Check current advice before travelling outside Addis Ababa.
स्रोत
यह प्रविष्टि इन स्रोतों के आधार पर लिखी गई है।
- Commemoration feast of the finding of the True Holy Cross of ChristUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 17 सितंबर 2026 को देखा गया
- MeskelWikipedia · 17 सितंबर 2026 को देखा गया
- Ethiopian calendarWikipedia · 17 सितंबर 2026 को देखा गया
- Ethiopia travel advice: safety and securityUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · 17 सितंबर 2026 को देखा गया
- Ethiopia travel advice: warnings and insuranceUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · 17 सितंबर 2026 को देखा गया
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