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Ethiopia's Meskel Celebration

KETR | By Matt Meinke,

Published December 1, 2015 at 5:00 PM CST

Candles are distributed to the crowd at the Meskel celebration in the Ethiopian Capital of Addis Ababa.

During a visit to Ethiopia, Mary Clark was able to take part in the 1600 year old traditional Meskel celebration, commemorating the finding of the true cross in the fourth century AD by Queen Helena, mother of Constantine, First Christian Roman Emperor.

Holding some similarities to American Thanksgiving celebrations, Meskel brings together half a million people, young and old, to light candles and bonfires as part of the festivities.

To see additional photos, and a transcript of this story, visit the Mary Clark Traveler Blog.

Mary Clark Traveler airs Tuesday evenings at 4:50 or 5:50 during All Things Considered on KETR.

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Matt Meinke

Born in Dallas, Texas, Matt moved to the Sulphur Springs area in 1990 and settled in Commerce shortly thereafter. Having dreamed of working in radio since childhood, he began working at KETR while taking Radio-Television courses at Texas A&M University-Commerce in 1993. Matt has transitioned from a part-time worker and pupil of KETR, to the station’s Chief Announcer/Producer and supervisor of student broadcasters. A familiar voice of 88-9 KETR, Matt has hosted such shows as The Late Nite Lion, and can currently be heard as host of Notably Texan.

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Mary Walker Clark

Mary Walker Clark is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston Law School. She practiced law in Paris, Texas for 29 years before retiring to pursue her lifelong passion for traveling. Besides writing a travel column for the Paris News, Mary maintains her travel blog, MaryClarkTraveler.com, and spends hours planning the next trip. Her interest in public speaking led her to radio with its magical ability to promote storytelling without all of the visuals. Through her experiences and words, Mary takes you with her to Vietnam, New Zealand, Guatemala, Tunisia, and many other countries as well destinations in Northeast Texas and the United States.

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