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EASTER
Rites,
Rituals and Celebrations
The interior of the Holy
Sepulchre by David Roberts
in the 19th century
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet
of
poor men at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
late
19th centuryont> |
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In the Holy Land, Easter has two celebrations, one for
the Latin and Protestants and another for the Greek
Orthodox and Armenians.
Easter week starts with Palm Sunday. Some families
prepare palm branches in tree-like designs with pockets
to hold flowers.
These are sought by families, especially those blessed
with small children, and they are decorated with flowers
and colour ribbons in preparation for Palm Sunday
service, which is truly a community event. At the end of
the service, olive branches are distributed to
parishioners as a symbol of peace.
In the afternoon of Palm Sunday thousands of Christians
from all over the world take part in the traditional
procession, led by the Latin Patriarch, from Bethphage,
to the church of St. Anne in the old city. Palm and
olive branches, symbolizing victory and peace, are
carried by all. At the end of the procession, people
wave the branches as the Patriarch enters the church.
After the procession, scout troops circle the walls of
the Old city in their colourful uniforms and flags as
they play popular and nationalistic tunes.
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Sabt An-Nour: Saturday of
Holy Fire
Easter Saturday is the
Saturday of Light, ‘Sabt An-Nour’ in Arabic, when the
resurrection of Christ is commemorated in the ceremony
of "Holy Fire" which takes place in the church of the
Holy Sepulchre. For the Latin churches, Mass begins at
19:00 with the lights turned off and people carrying
candles into the church. The priest enters the church
carrying the Paschal candle and lights all the candles
with the light taken from Paschal candle. Later on,
scout groups celebrate the holy light in the streets of
the Old City until the midnight mass.
As for the Greek Orthodox
and eastern churches, hundreds of pilgrims, mostly
Cypriots, Greeks and Copts, sleep overnight near the
Holy Sepulchre to be among the first to receive the holy
fire. Local people start joining them in the early
morning as the church, its square and roofs become
packed with crowds. All carry bundles of candles and
glass lanterns. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch, who is
fasting at the time, begins his prayers from the early
morning until 14:00 when the light appears and the bells
ring. Meanwhile, Christian youths gather in one of the
squares of the Christian quarter and proceed through the
narrow alleys to the church.
On their way, they carry one of them on their shoulders
and as he leads them in shouting slogans. One can hear:
"Oh Virgin (Mary) peace be unto you- from Christians and
Muslims alike", and
"We Christians and candles in our
hands - for Mar Geries (St. George), Al-Khader, we pray.
As the youths enter the church,
they
circle the Holy Sepulchre repeating: "This is the tomb
of our Lord - our Lord is Jesus Christ - Christ has
bought us - with his precious blood he has redeemed us -
we are today happy." After circling the Holy Sepulchre
three times, they wait for the official procession led
by the Patriarch, with the participation of members of
old Arab Orthodox families who carry embroidered banners
and flags. At the end of the procession, the Patriarch
is led into the chapel of the tomb and the crowd, having
shown excitement, falls silent in anticipation of the
appearance of the Holy Light. The Patriarch stays for an
hour or more in prayer and meditation and around 1:30
am, the light appears and is quickly passed from one
bundle of candles to another. The light spreads to the
environs of the church and the whole place, inside out
is ablaze. Joyful ululations are heard, bells start
ringing and holy fire is already on its way to more
distant places, in the country and beyond.
The scout troops,
including Muslims, who await the light
on the roof of the church start playing their bands as
they proceed through the
narrow alleys of the Christian quarter. They are met by
youngsters, carrying lit candles and lanterns, as they
again shout slogans. The atmosphere is one of public joy
and celebration and local Christians start greeting one
another with the traditional Easter greeting: "Christ
has risen" and the response: "He has really risen."
During Easter special dishes are served, they usually
prepare either stuffed lamb or stuffed ribs. Stuffed
kubbeh is another traditional dish during Easter,
symbolizing the spear.
Special cookies are prepared for Easter “Ka’ek wa
Ma’moul” made from semolina and butter and filled with
dates (for the “ka’ek”) and walnuts for
the (“ma’moul”). The “ma’moul” symbolises the sponge
that was used to wipe the face of Jesus as he suffered
on the cross. The “ka’ek” resembles Jesus’ crown of
thorns when he was nailed on the cross.
The colorful eggs symbolize joy in Christ's resurrection
from the grave. A red liquor is offered during the
visits to evoke the blood of Christ.
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Sources: |
-
Jerusalem: Religious Aspects, PASSIA 1995,
Jerusalem: A Christian Perspective, Dr. Bernard
Sabella - p40-43 |
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- Sahtain:
Discover the Palestinian Culture by Eating,
Copyright Freres' School, Bethlehem 1999 |
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- Classic
Palestinian Cookery, Christiane Dabdoub Nasser,
Saqi Books 2001 |
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- This week in
Palestine issue No. 36, April 2001 |
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- Art And
History of Jerusalem, Bonechi & Stematzky, 1996 |
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