A shadow over Golgotha

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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre even yielded up a shadow for Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday--a shadow of a hanging lamp, a shadow hanging over the walls of Jerusalem
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on the wall mosaic that was made for the Millennium 2000 celebrations and Pope John Paul II's visit to the church.
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The other side of the huge mosaic shows the anointing or unction of the body for burial.

Pilgrims customarily kneel and kiss the Stone of Unction, believed to be the place where Jesus' body was anointed with oils and spices.

The marble slab was brought here in 1810 to protect the original stone underneath.

The pilgrims rub the stone with a cloth, trying (I assume) to collect any drop of oil that may have fallen when the lamps were filled.

Some place jewelry or belongings on the stone for a minute, for luck.

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If you would like to see more of the Holy Sepulchre today, on this day of waiting that will soon end and turn into Easter, please click on my "Holy Sepulchre" label for other posts.

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An impressive panoramic tour of the vast church can be viewed at http://www.360tr.com/kudus/kiyamet_eng/index.html (although its creator's notes are a bit strange).

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