Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate the festival of Meskel at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostAmene, 1, joins in the Meskel Festival at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostAttendees make their way to Meskel festival at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostAttendees make their way to Meskel festival at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostA man holds the pole of tents during Meskel festival at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church gather to celebrate Meskel at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate Meskel at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate Meskel with the burning of the bonfire at dusk at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019. The festival is celebrated by Ethiopian Christians across the world.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostEyueal Yonas, 7, hugs his mother Becky Wolde as they celebrate Meskel at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is celebrating the festival of Meskel at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019. Meskel is an annual religious holiday in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox churches, which commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman Empress Helena in the fourth century.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate Meskel with the burning of the bonfire at dusk at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019. The festival is celebrated by Ethiopian Christians across the world.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostYohanes Byassu, 8, helps his mother Tiruwork Abera by marking a cross of ash on her forehead during Meskel Festival at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019. Members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church were celebrating the festival at the park.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate Meskel together at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Meskel is an annual religious holiday in the Ethiopian Orthodox church, which commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman Empress Helena in the fourth century.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver PostMembers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate Meskel together at the park at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
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Members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate the festival of Meskel at Lowry Park in Aurora on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
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By Hyoung Chang | hchang@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
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Members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Colorado gathered Saturday in Aurora for Meskel.
The holiday is celebrated by Ethiopian Christians across the world, marking the revelation of the location of the true cross to St. Helena in the fourth century. A large bonfire, called the Demera, is held the night before Meskel because St. Helena lit a fire whose smoke pointed to the location where the cross was buried.