Thousands gather in Ethiopia's capital to celebrate a religious festival. Many are thinking of peace

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Thousands of Ethiopians gathered in the capital Thursday to celebrate an annual religious festival distinguished by the lighting of bonfires according to the beliefs of the local Orthodox Christian faithful.

National celebrations of the festival, known as Meskel, traditionally happen in a square by the same name in Addis Ababa. It is one of Ethiopia’s most celebrated religious holidays, marked with rituals and merriment across the country.

Festivities will continue until Friday, a national holiday during which the faithful attend church services and share intimate moments with their families.

In celebrations of Meskel — a word in the local Amharic language for "cross" — bonfires are burned across the country. In Meskel square Thursday, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church lit a large one in the presence of thousands of believers in white costumes.

Across Ethiopia, many gather in public squares and by churches to light similar bonfires from piles of logs, dry leaves and grass. Prayers and religious ceremonies are followed by a feast of “kitfo,” a lean minced meat somewhat similar to steak tartare that's savored as part of Meskel festivities.

According to the church's beliefs, the festival celebrates the cross upon which Jesus was crucified and its recovery by Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine. The story goes that Saint Helena had a revelation in a dream instructing her to light a bonfire and follow the smoke to find the cross buried in Jerusalem.

Meskel has been inscribed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This year's festival comes at a difficult time for Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country and one of the largest landlocked nations in the world. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's efforts to secure access to the sea via the semiautonomous Somali region of Somaliland have angered authorities in Somalia who see the move as an act of aggression.

At the same time, Ethiopia is at odds with Egypt over the large dam on the River Nile that authorities in Cairo say will diminish their share of much-needed Nile water. The disputes have raised tensions in the Horn of Africa in recent weeks.

Abiy also has flexed with the Orthodox Christian Church, which criticized him for apparent excesses by government forces in the brutal war in the northern region of Tigray. That conflict ended with a peace deal in 2022. A new insurgency emerged in 2023 when government troops tried to disarm local militia in the Amhara region, which shares a border with Tigray.

Some Meskel celebrants said the festival presents an opportunity to consider peace.

“The importance of the celebration of Meskel to Ethiopians is to have us reflect on the idea of peace," said Berhanu Admass, a church deacon. “This is to have us embrace forgiveness and pray for our peaceful co-existence as uniquely and beautifully defined to us by the hope that Meskel is and it represents.”

A larger celebration of Meskel is expected Friday in Gurage Zone in Ethiopia’s south, where Meskel has long held particular significance. The Gurage Zone administration said it expects hundreds of thousands of tourists to travel there.

Everton Gordon, a Jamaican-Canadian who has previously celebrated Meskel in Canada, said that marking the holiday in Ethiopia is a unique experience. The large bonfires are “going to be the highlight,” he said.

Ethiopian Azeb Bisrat and her children flew into Addis Ababa from Gonder, a city in Amhara that has witnessed intense fighting in recent months. She said that some members of her extended family were unable to travel because of security concerns.

“As a big family, we often drove to Addis Ababa to take part in such an important ritual, but the last few years have made that journey nearly impossible," she said.

Luleseged Tadesse, a resident of CMC, a suburb of Addis Ababa, said that while he was unable to attend the big celebration in Meskel Square, he had mobilized neighbors, including Muslim Sudanese and Syrian refugees, to take part in the celebration. Those neighbors escaped conflicts in their countries.

“All neighbors have contributed to the festival what we can and we are going to light a bonfire, sacrifice a sheep and pray in our own religions for better days for Sudan, Syria and Ethiopia,” he said. “Such a celebration brings neighbors together, makes us act like a family and see the best in each other.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.