Purim weekend

Kids in costume

Purim is on Monday. But the school kids are already in costume and parading in the streets today. The Sabbath begins tonight so they cannot celebrate till tomorrow evening. Adults join in as well in the costume parade. So what has all this masquerading to do with Purim as found in the Book of Esther? After the decree to kill the jews in Persia was enacted, Queen Esther pleaded for her people's safety and the King allowed the jews to escape by whatever means. The jews therefore wore costumes, masqueraded in masks so that they cannot be identified as jews. So to this day jews wear costumes and pretend to be someone else during the feast. Purim however is not a national holiday because it is not a feast established by God. It was established by jewish tradition. So offices and shops will open on Monday.

Today we have no news regarding the burning of the Ascension Chapel. The police are probably doing their investigations. These yearly attacks on christian churches and institutes have never seen justice. No one has ever been charged.

Night market

Yesterday was really a hard day as I had so many things happening ... a last minute exhibition in which ambassadors and jewish dignitaries attended, class, eucharistic adoration with confessions (2 hours), work in both libraries, visiting tourist groups in the evenings. I finished work after 9pm. By the time I got home it was almost 11pm. I was exhausted. Damascus Gate was quiet but hawkers were still around selling veggies and fruit. Being Thursday night, the muslims begin their weekend and food is an essential part of the weekend family feast.

This morning I got up very dizzy and light-headed. Probably didn't sleep enough. But I had to open the library and then walk 2 km uphill to teach in school. School ended at 12.30pm but I couldn't go home because the thousands of muslims, having finished prayers at the Al Aqsa, were coming out of the Old City. There's no way you can push your way through to get into the City. So i waited outside Damascus Gate for 20 mins and when the crowds got thinner, I pushed my way back ... a good 200 metres against the current. Now it's work till probably 9pm tonight.