Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas in Israel
Although Bethlehem was a very festive place, the rest of Israel is not. It is strange to be in a country in which Christmas is not a national holiday. On Christmas day, life on the streets was just like any other normal day. And you are even reminded of the fact that Israel is not a Christian county in the little details. I went in search of wrapping paper to wrap J's Christmas presents. No luck in finding paper that remotely looked like Christmas paper! No red, green or gold paper to be found. So I settled from some nice "happy new year" paper with an Israeli theme print :) One must make adjustments when living in a foreign country!
Christmas in Bethlehem
J and I arrived in Israel on Christmas Eve...just in time to make it to Bethlehem for the midnight mass celebration. With some convincing on my part, we were even able to get inside the catholic church despite our not having the special ticket! Although we had a limited view of the front of the church, it was a special experience to be worshipping in Bethlehem with so many people from all corners of the world, including such dignitaries as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Bethlehem was very crowded, filled with locals and tourists...and had a very festive air of celebration. According to the news, this was the first year since the early 2000's that so many tourists have made a pilgrimage to the city for the Christmas holiday. Good news for a city that so heavily relies on tourism revenue. The need to go through a checkpoint and walk through the opening in the security wall in order to enter the West Bank and the city of Bethlehem was a somber reminder that although we celebrate Christ's birth, we do not yet live in a world of peace.
The decorated courtyard separating the Catholic and Orthodox churches at the site believed to be where Jesus was born.
The interior of the Orthodox Church of the Nativity.
The crowd waiting to enter the underground grotto where Jesus is said to have been born.
Within the grotto.
Bethlehem was very crowded, filled with locals and tourists...and had a very festive air of celebration. According to the news, this was the first year since the early 2000's that so many tourists have made a pilgrimage to the city for the Christmas holiday. Good news for a city that so heavily relies on tourism revenue. The need to go through a checkpoint and walk through the opening in the security wall in order to enter the West Bank and the city of Bethlehem was a somber reminder that although we celebrate Christ's birth, we do not yet live in a world of peace.
The decorated courtyard separating the Catholic and Orthodox churches at the site believed to be where Jesus was born.
The interior of the Orthodox Church of the Nativity.
The crowd waiting to enter the underground grotto where Jesus is said to have been born.
Within the grotto.
Beautiful Holland...
I arrived in Holland 24 hours later than planned...thanks to an unexpected snowstorm in Boston. However, the delay meant that I arrivedin Holland at a very magical time! The fog of the past 2 days had frozen everything...and everything was covered in a thick layer of frost! When flying into Amsterdam airport, the Dutch landscape looked like a black and white portrait. The frost covered every bit of color!
After a very joyful reunion with J at the airport, we drove to an area near Amsterdam where there are many windmills. The magical landscape didn't last long with the sun shining...and within an hour most of the frost had already melted.
We had wanted to join the Dutch skaters on the frozen canals...but were unsuccessful in finding a place to rent ice skates :( We had to satisfy ourselves with sliding on the ice with our shoes.
You can see the thick layer of frost on the grass on the foreground of this picture. The sun had already melted the frost on the windmill!
After a very joyful reunion with J at the airport, we drove to an area near Amsterdam where there are many windmills. The magical landscape didn't last long with the sun shining...and within an hour most of the frost had already melted.
We had wanted to join the Dutch skaters on the frozen canals...but were unsuccessful in finding a place to rent ice skates :( We had to satisfy ourselves with sliding on the ice with our shoes.
You can see the thick layer of frost on the grass on the foreground of this picture. The sun had already melted the frost on the windmill!
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