SHOTLIST: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (SEP. 26, 2025) (ANADOLU-ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN WHITE TRADITIONAL CLOTHES DANCING AND SINGING TOGETHER 2. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LITTING BONFIRE 3. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE HOLDING CANDLES AND DANCING TOGTHER ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - SEP. 26, 2025: Thousands of Orthodox Christians gathered in Ethiopia’s capital on Friday, Sep. 26, to celebrate Meskel, the first major festival of the religious year. Participants dressed in traditional white garments and carried candles while singing hymns in Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square. A traditional bonfire was also lit as part of the festivities, marking the event’s spiritual and cultural significance. The Meskel celebration is based on the belief that Ethiopia’s 16th century Queen Eleni once had a revelation during a dream, where she was told to make a a large bonfire, known locally as the Demera, whose smoke would then show her where the cross of Jesus was buried, according to Church writings. Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia believe that when the bonfire was lit, the smoke rose high up in the sky and returned to the ground pointing to the exact spot where the cross had been buried. The Christian community believes the right wing of the cross on which Jesus was crucified was brought to Ethiopia and buried at the Gishen Mariam Monastery in Amhara Region, some 483 kilometers (around 300 miles) north of Addis Ababa.