Radar | Apr 24,2021
Meskel Square turned into a rolling wave of colour and sound on Friday, September 26, 2025, as thousands pressed toward the annual bonfire celebrating the holiday of Mesqel, which honours the discovery of the "True Cross." For many, Mesqel is more than a holiday. It is a living tradition that fuses faith, culture and the shared trust of standing shoulder-to-shoulder under vigilant eyes, celebrating a story nearly two millennia old. From Africa Avenue (Bole Road) to the Square itself, every entrance became a checkpoint. Revellers were screened first by city police, then by federal officers. Volunteers in bright vests guided foot traffic, while street photographers set up makeshift studios to capture the throng arriving in embroidered robes and suit coats.
At Mesqel Square, the crowd spanned church, state and foreign missions. Abune Matiwos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, sat near Addis Abeba Mayor Adanech Abeebie and Tourism Minister's Shewit Shanka. Diplomats dotted the rows behind them. Many attendees recorded the scene on their phones; some watched from far-off screens. Among the visitors was Leonardo Luca, an Italian seeing Mesqel for the first time. Moving carefully through the mass of people, he was flanked by friends who had attended more than five celebrations.
“It’s amazing,” he told Fortune, gesturing toward the swirl of traditional dress. “At first, seeing the police at the entrances, treating everyone equally, I remembered the rumours and felt a flicker of fear.” Luca, holding three small Ethiopian flags and a Canon camera, plans to visit the monastery at Gishen Mariam on Sunday, a site linked to the Cross. A larger flag proved hard to find, and lacking an entry permit, he had to abandon some of his photo ideas.
The Square pulsed with sound as more than 9,000 Sunday school students sang hymns. Groups from Dawro, Oromia Regional State and English-speaking communities layered their voices into the chorus, displaying Ethiopia’s diversity. Actors in robes evoked Queen Sheba and other figures from Ethiopian lore. This year, the national flag appeared only infront stage, a change from last year, but the crowd’s energy never dipped. When clerics lit the bonfire, the afternoon slipped away quickly. Spectators leaned forward, phones aloft, as flames rose. Though the ceremony felt brief, each moment carried a sense of devotion and history, culminating in a roar of cheers that echoed off the surrounding buildings.
PUBLISHED ON
Sep 27,2025 [ VOL
26 , NO
1326]
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