On September 25th, I went to my first Meskel celebration. It was held at a church that is just getting on it's feet. A church that a friend of mine belongs to. What a gorgeous day it was. Barely a cloud in the sky. Unfornately, John wasn't able to go with me....work, work, work. There was awesome food there and my friend Tiru was in charge of making the coffee. It was so cool to watch her roast the coffee beans. The aroma alone made my mouth water. They also had a little area of handmade clothes that the Ethiopian women made that were for sale. Of course, the first thing I looked for was something for my little girl.
Around 5 o'clock or so we all went outside. The priest came out and there was prayer for about 30 to 40 minutes. It was so nice to be there and yet there was a part of me that felt like an outsider. I was honored and humbled to be there. It seemed pretty spiritual even though I didn't understand a word of it.
After the prayers, the bonfire was lit and the celebration began. There was lots of singing and dancing.
Just before the bonfire went out, John was able to show up. Even though he missed the majority of the celebration, he was really excited to be there. Afterwards, we back inside the church and of course, I had to show him the clothes that I found for Baby "E". He, in turn, found a dress for me and an outfit for him.
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