Meskal *updated*

Tomorrow is the first big religious holiday of the new year in Ethiopia: Meskal (or Maskal), which is an Amharic word meaning "the finding of the true cross".

Full description of the history and celebration of this holiday is here.

The short version is this: Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in the 4th century AD to find the cross on which Jesus was crucified, which had been lost. She burned some incense, and followed the smoke to find the remnants of the cross.

According to legend, several pieces of the cross were later given to Ethiopian Emporer Dawit in thanks for the efforts of the Ethiopian Christian kings in protecting Egyptian Copts against the Egyptian Muslims. The pieces of the cross were carefully guarded on their way to Ethiopia, with torchbearers leading the way. The Ethiopian Church still claims to have a piece of the true cross, buried underneath the remote monastery of Gishen Mariam.

The holiday is marked with celebrations featuring torchbearers and huge community bonfires. The biggest bonfire is in the main square in Addis Ababa, called (natch!) Meskal Square.

**Updated to add a link to this great post over at Firenge Addis, with description of this year's celebration in Addis, complete with a Flickr link with photos!**