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The
event - usually a joyous affair where huge crowds gather around
bonfires - marks the moment when the 4th century Roman Empress
St Helena found Christ's cross in Jerusalem.
As they do year after year, hundreds of priests, musicians and
singers clad in white robes came together on the vast expanse of
the capital's Meskel Square.
But the mood was much darker and the clergy kept turning to the
conflict raging again in the northern region of Tigray.
"Truly speaking, this year, we Ethiopians are not celebrating
the festival in full happiness," said Archbishop Abuna Markos,
resplendent in a white robe with gold trim and embroidered
silver crosses and blue floral designs.
"Just like the mothers were crying under the cross, our mothers
in the North are also crying. They are suffering. This suffering
is common to all of us. It's our own," he said, holding a gold
cross encrusted with red gems.
The war in Tigray, which broke out in November 2020 and has
spilt over into other regions, has killed thousands of people,
displaced many more and left an estimated 13 million people in
desperate need of food aid.
The conflict has pitted Ethiopia's federal army, its regional
allies and the Eritrean military against forces loyal to the
Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that controls
Tigray's regional government.
The central government and its allies accuse the TPLF, which
long dominated Ethiopia's ruling coalition, of seeking to
reassert its dominance, while the TPLF accuses the central
government of abusing its powers and oppressing Tigray.
Both dismiss each other's accusations. After months of relative
quiet, fighting flared again in August.
"On this day, my prayer for the new year is that God says
'enough', because he is the owner of peace and he declared peace
through his cross by denouncing hatred," said deacon Haileyesus
Meleku, holding an ornate silver staff.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom; Writing by Estelle Shirbon;
Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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