| Duration: | 2 Day(s) - 1 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Festival Tours |
Arrival Asmara and Eve Celebration
This is the first day of the festival, Demera. On this day, bonfires are built topped by a cross to which flowers are tied. The flowers are Meskel Daisies. The Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church orchestrates the lightning ceremony.
After the bonfires are blessed they are lit and dancing and singing begin around them. Priests in full ceremonial dress sing around the bonfire. While the Demera is set on fire there is an inner feeling of brightness for all those who are around it. Little Demera is also built in individual houses or villages. After some time, splinters from the bundles of burning wood collapse. Which direction they fall is very significant: north, south, east or west Interpretations are soon conjecture as to whether the fields of grain are going to be plentiful or not, or there is peace all year round, etc.
ON: Asmara Palace Hotel, Asmara
Meskel, Finding of the True Cross, Festival
Meskel, one of the major Eritrean Orthodox festivals is celebrated for two days beginning September 26th. Legend has it that in the year 326, Queen Helena (Empress Helen) the Mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the cross upon which Christ was crucified. Unable to find the Holy Sepulchre, she prayed for help and was directed by the smoke from a burning fire as to where the cross was buried. After unearthing the Holy Cross, Queen Helena lit torches heralding her success.
Today is Meskel. This day is observed with plenty of food and drink as believers go to the spot of the Demera and, using ashes from the fire, mark their heads with the sign of the cross. The festival coincides with the mass blooming of the golden yellow Meskel daisies. The best place to see the Meskel Festival is in the capital Addis Ababa at the famous Meskel Square.
Afternoon, transfer to the airport and end of the tour.
