Eritrea. Asmara. September square. Meskel is the most important religious feast for the orthodox church in Eritrea. It takes place every year on september 27. Children (boys and girls) are dressed in white cotton loinclothes and wear a holy cross on their foreheads. A couple of young boys carry a frame, decorated with a shiny plastic flower paper. The frame shows a painting of the Queen of Peace, the Virgin Mary as the Holy Mother holding her son Jesus in her arms. The Virgin Mary and Jesus have both a golden crown on their heads. A boy carries a picture of Jesus adult while another holds in his hands an orange cross made out od cardboard. © 2002 Didier Ruef