---
title: "Meskel in Ethiopia | Taste of Ethiopia"
description: "Explore Meskel in Ethiopia: its date, meaning and traditions, with a live countdown and cultural guide from Taste of Ethiopia."
url: "https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/events/meskel"
---

National religious holiday and UNESCO heritage

# Meskel

መስቀል

Meskel brings communities together around the glowing Demera bonfire to remember the Finding of the True Cross.

Sunday 27 September 2026

**\--** days  **\--** hours  **\--** minutes  **\--** seconds

Meskerem 17, 2019 E.C. · Addis Ababa time

![A cross silhouetted against a blazing Meskel Demera bonfire](https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/assets/events/meskel.webp)

Photo: [Redietmd, CC BY-SA 4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DEMERA.jpg)

CALENDAR NOTE

Meskerem 17 usually falls on 27 September and moves to 28 September in the Ethiopian leap-year cycle.

[View the full cultural calendar](https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/events)

01 · MEANING

## What it means.

Meskel means "cross" in Ge'ez. The feast recalls the Christian tradition that Empress Helena discovered the cross on which Jesus was crucified after smoke guided her to the place.

02 · TRADITION

## How it is marked.

On Meskel Eve, priests, choirs and communities gather around a tall flower-topped structure called the Demera. Torches are added, hymns are sung and the bonfire is lit before the feast day.

03 · EXPERIENCE

## What you may see.

In Addis Ababa, Meskel Square becomes the best-known centre of the celebration. Across Ethiopia, smaller Demera fires, processions, feasting and yellow Meskel daisies welcome the dry, bright season.

[Next in the cultural year **Irreecha**](https://testofethiopiarestaurant.com.au/events/irreecha)

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