Lazarus Day

Woven palms for sale

After the clashes yesterday marking Land Day ... today was relatively calm. Damascus Gate was crowded again with peddlers and shoppers. But police and soldiers are still stationed in strategic places.

Tomorrow Holy Week begins. The Palm Sunday procession will start from the church of Bethfage down the Mt. of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and ends at the Church of St. Anne (Bethesda Pool). It'll be pretty crowded and its the only time Christians can parade publicly without fear of attacks from Jews and muslims on account of their sheer numbers (and police protection).

My palm

Streets in the Christian Quarter are being filled with beautifully woven palm branches. They range from 25 shekels to 15 shekels for the ornate ones, and 1 shekel for single blades woven into a cross. After all these years here without a palm, I decided to buy one. This is my first palm in 20 years.

Today, the day before Palm Sunday is Lazarus Day, a commemoration of Lazarus' revivification and preparation for Jesus' own resurrection. There's a solemn mass at the church in Bethany - the traditional home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Well if its anything to go by, we hope this Holy Week will revive the hopes and aspirations of the small and beleaguered community of christians in this land. After all, christianity started here.