Demera in Addis Ababa
~ by TPO ~
The holiday of Demera in Ethiopia falls on the eve of Maskal (መስቀል), which is a religious commemoration of the discovery of the actual Cross upon which Jesus was crucified. The Cross (Maskal, መስቀል) was lost for a long time and was discovered by Eleni (Helena, እሌኒ) who was the mother of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor (272-337 AD).
** According to Wikipedia ===> The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni, as she is known, had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she should make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried. **
This video from a German journalist source from 1956. Emperor Haile Selassie, his two elder sons, and high government were attending the celebration of Demera.