Timkat

This weekend marks the festival of Timkat, or Epiphany, which celebrates Christ's baptism in the River Jordan. Or so I read, having missed those classes in Sunday school. It is apparently the most important Christian holiday in Ethiopia, trumping both Christmas and Easter.
Interestingly, at Axum, it is said that the original Ark of the Covenant is taken out of the building where it is stored every other day and paraded around town. In all the other Timkat parades, a replica of the Ark (the Tabot, or Tabotat) is carried around. Every church has a Tabot. You don't get to see any of the Tabots, because they are covered in silks. The actual Ark is said to have magical powers, and just seeing it might do you in, or do you harm, at least.
It is interesting that this holiday, which seems to have started as a celebration of part of Jesus' life, is now more concerned with something that happened ? thousands of years before his birth.
It was all fun. The parade moved very slowly, as the streets had to be swept in front of the priests, and red carpets continually rolled out, before they could proceed. The weather was sunny and hot, but the huge crowd was in good spirits. Some may have waited three or four hours before the procession came by.