Merry Meskel!

      Last week, there was yet another holiday here in Ethiopia. And while with New Year’s there was a certain familiarity since (believe it or not) there are New Year’s in America, this was my first holiday that was completely foreign. Meskel may now be my favorite holiday in the world. My camera was broken a few months ago so, sadly, I cannot share any pictures of my actual experience. But who needs real pictures when there is Google images!?!

      There is a long history behind Meskel that I am about to butcher because: 1. I don’t have Internet and cannot Wikipedia it 2. There’s a language barrier here so I am never sure that I understand things correctly. So bear with me but most of all, accept what I say as fact and don’t bother looking up how wrong I am… Some specific amount of years ago, a woman (whose name I should definitely remember) was like, “I’m pretty sure a part of the cross Jesus was crucified on is buried somewhere in Ethiopia”. Then some angels visited her and said, “Hey, good call on that Jesus thing. Part of the cross is indeed in Ethiopia. To find it, create a huge pyre and the direction it falls, is where you will find the cross”. She said, “Thanks angels!” and they all high-fived. Are you still with me?

            So this woman, let’s call her Nancy, Nancy builds a really big bonfire. There is a ton of smoke and sure enough, the pyre collapses in a very specific direction. She begins her trek, not knowing how far she will travel. Along the way, if I remember correctly, she had to fight kangaroos, lemurs, and a pack of knife wielding octopuses (that‘s 8 knives each!). But she finally made it to the mountain the pyre lead her to, started digging and BOOM, found part of the cross that Jesus was crucified on. And so concludes “History With Laura”.

            Meskel (Nancy’s adventure) is celebrated every year towards the end of September. Last Wednesday, what felt like the whole town, went to the huge Orthodox Church here in Asella. There were at least 1,000 people there of all ages. In the middle of the crowd, the church had built a pyre that was probably 40 feet tall. All throughout the day, various groups and people came to the woodpile, singing songs, and throwing more kindle on the wood. There was a lot of praying and a group prayer as night began to fall. Then, around dusk, it all started. Before any match was lit, you could feel the anticipation of the crowd. Everyone got a little closer to each other and surged towards what would soon be a raging fire. As I was about 50 feet back, I could not see who actually threw the first torch on the mound. But the second it happened, the pyre was engulfed. The crowd cheered. Little kids screamed in excitement. Everyone clamored to get a better view. Fortunately, I was not downwind of the fire because those devoted people were pelted with burning embers, though it affected them in no way. It truly was a Meskel Miracle that no one was burned, the tree downwind did not catch fire and that the power lines directly over the pyre somehow held. This holiday would be shutdown before it started if this was in America.

            After a while, people started leaving. While the burning is intended to be to see which direction the pyre falls, (people in that direction are suppose to have good luck for the next year. But my favorite part is that every town has a burning so throughout Ethiopia, a pyre will fall in every direction meaning everyone in Ethiopia gets good luck for a year. Every year. Classic.) but since the cross has already been found, I suppose there is not much of a point of waiting around. After meandering around for a bit, I went and got some delicious food with lovely people. One the way back to my house, there were mini-pyres all along the street. Kids singing songs and happily having an excuse to play with fire. Again, this would never fly in the US.

            The next day, the actual day of Meskel, was much like New Years but much slower paced. I had first lunch around noon. It was at a house I went to for New Years but it was a much more intimate affair. Just the family and two foriengis sharing some delicious sigawot and kitfo. I had second lunch at 3:00 and it was just as good as the first. More food than I could ever possibly eat but for some reason, I tried to force myself to. The night ended at the same local hang out that I ended New Years with and just like before, was “gorsha’ed” handfuls of food by the owner.

           It was a really great experience overall. The food was good and anytime there is a giant 40-foot fire, it is going to be a good time. I think about how in most areas of Southern California, you cannot even have fireworks on the 4^th of July. I wonder how a 40-foot pyre resting just below power lines would go over. It is those spectacular sights and experiences, that I could never have back home, that make me remember why I am here, willingly sharing a hole in the ground as a toilet with 8 other people.