Herrnhuter Stern, reflected

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Shadows of night at Church of the Ascension in the Augusta Victoria compound on Mount of Olives.
Strange what tricks stairs play on otherwise-normal shadows.
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And by day, a nice reflection of the fortress-like walls.
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The German Lutheran church is decorated with a Moravian star, a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem. And indeed, Bethlehem is very near.
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Wikipedia has the interesting story of how the Moravian star's geometry took shape.
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In German it is called the Herrnhuter Stern, named for the Moravian mother community in East Saxony, Germany, where the decorations were first commercially produced.
The Herrnhut Star Company in that city has been producing original Herrnhut Advent and Christmas stars for over 160 years.
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(The reflections and shadows are "Christmas gifts" for James at Weekend Reflections
and Hey Harriet at Shadow Shot Sunday.)
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Shabbat shalom to all.
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Cookie cutter food

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Blogger friends Rob and Mandy over at the always-entertaining Barcelona Daily Photo are inviting us all to contribute to their new meme. "Food for Thoughts" will be about food, eating-places, and anything food-related.
Yalla!
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Making Christmas cookies--yes, right here in Jerusalem!
I sighted the girls decorating them in the little restaurant of Christ Church guesthouse.
(It is just to the right of the Jaffa Gate as you enter the Old City. )
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Christmas cookies are pretty symbolic Food for Thought, no?

Which is taller, the cut tree or the potted plant?
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A little more about Christ Church, the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East, here.
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Coptic Orthodox

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Today is Russian Orthodox Christmas.
I was planning to post pictures of the big and beautiful Russian Orthodox monastery in Ein Kerem.
But then I read the so very sad news that seven men were gunned down outside the Coptic church right after Christmas Eve Midnight Mass last night in southern Egypt.

In memory of them I give you whatever photos I have of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.

The Copts have a presence in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

You can see their priests and the faithful in this celebration of Palm Sunday 2007.

Since the 13th century the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria has been represented in Jerusalem by a resident archbishop.

They seem to have a nunnery in the Old City.

Slaying the dragon.

At the entrance to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate.

I think this was on Via Dolorosa Street.

( The signs at the far left are obviously not connected to the Patriarchate. )

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The only statistics I can find say that in 2001 the small community numbered just over 1,000 members, in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth.

I get the impression that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Coptic Christians have religious freedom and security.

I wish them well on their Christmas Day and always.

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Reflecting on Christmas

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Some Christmas reflections for James' "Weekend Reflections" meme

In my search for signs of Christmas in Jerusalem's Old City, I was lucky to find Santa, two trees, AND a reflection at one restaurant in the Christian Quarter.

The man, table, and interesting fake tree you saw in the glass door were actually across the street.

This truck of the Jerusalem Municipality came loaded with freshly-cut tree crowns.

(Remember the post on the distribution of free Christmas trees?)

In the front of the rearview mirror you see the Old City through the Jaffa Gate opening.

And here is the other direction: the other half of Jaffa Gate, which continues on as the City Wall that encircles the Old City.

See the happy people standing with their new trees?

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Christmas blessings to you from the Holy City.
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The Pope is saved

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Where are the Swiss Guard boys when you need them?!

(Photo by Pete Souza, July 10, 2009)

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Some 15,000 visitors came to Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem last night and all went peacefully, thank God.

But not so at the Vatican!

(My photo from the Papal Mass in Jerusalem, May 2009)

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At about 10 p.m. Rome time, as the procession of clergy was entering St. Peter's Basilica, an "unstable" woman jumped the barricade and rushed toward Pope Benedict.

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Before being swarmed by plainclothes bodyguards (not the Swiss Guard), the Jerusalem Post says "She grabbed the pope's vestments as she was taken down, with Benedict seemingly falling on top of her."

Cardinal Roger Etchegaraywas also knocked down in the commotion and was taken to hospital with a broken leg.

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Strange. As the live transmission of the Midnight Mass began, I remember praying over my computer, "Please Pope Baruch, don't fall. Don't let anyone attack you. Be safe!"

(It is the old Jewish Mother syndrome. We worry.)

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Suddenly the Vaticano CTV webcast went blank and my heart skipped a beat.

But it soon resumed, showing the Pope already at the altar. I wondered why he looked sad. Sad on Christmas Eve?

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Only two hours later, when the nice Mass was ended, did I hear about the incident on Israel radio news.
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The woman in the red hooded sweatshirt can be seen as she was caught on this video.

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Good for you, Your Holiness, for picking yourself up and continuing to lead your people in the praise of God. Sei gesund und stark, Pope Baruch.

Merry Christmas to you and all.

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UPDATE: CNS (Catholic News Service blog) just published more details, including this shocking item:

"Vatican sources confirmed that the woman was the same person who attempted to rush the pope at Midnight Mass last year, but was tackled by guards before she could reach the pontiff."

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CNS also posts a good amateur video of the woman filmed from right behind her.

You think she will try again next year?? Oi veh!

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Christmas greetings from the Holy Land

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Sometimes I forget that Bethlehem is but six miles away as the crow flies, or tonight, as the "angels" fly, perhaps.
Bethlehem seems like a whole different world, far away . . . .
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But may your world tonight be full of wonder and tidings of good cheer.
To Christians near and far -- a holy and peaceful Christmas Eve!
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Santa Claus at the Jaffa Gate!

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Early this morning I went to the Old City on a blogging mission: to cover the annual Christmas tree distribution to the Christian residents of Jerusalem.
And boy, did I luck out!!

Santa Claus himself was at the Jaffa Gate, ho-ho-hoing!

You remember from last Sunday's post. Jaffa Gate, built in 1538 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. It is the main entrance through the Old City wall.

But to see the plaza outside the gate full of Christmas trees was a first for me!

Look, even a white dove of peace flying above!

Apparently the Christians residing in Jerusalem (e.g. U.N. personnel, diplomatic corps, clergy, foreign correspondents, etc.) were supposed to show their ID card or passport to get a free tree.

A few did.

Santa passed out a few trees to those good folk.

But mostly it looked like a free-for-all with people grabbing trees each time another pickup truck of the Jerusalem Municipality drove up.

One hundred trees were supposed to be distributed between 9:00 and noon, but by ten o'clock they ran out of trees.

City Hall footed the bill, paying 70 shekels per tree to the Keren Kayemet/Jewish National Fund, which provided the trees.

Santa did a lot of posing with trees and with people as the cameras rolled and clicked.

He spread Christmas cheer and wishes for peace in flawless English.

See the strange "trunk"?
 That is because these are actually crowns from trees that needed thinning out at their top.

I read that some were Atlantic cypress, some pines.

More info at the KKL JNF website.

They all smelled so good.

People took their trees home however they could.

This woman just shouldered her tree and started walking.

Some piled them on the 3-wheeled pushcarts that porters use to transport goods along the narrow lanes of the Old City.

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For these very religious Jewish boys, this was the closest they ever were to anything related to goyishe Christmas. They seemed in shock that this was happening.

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I think in response to ultra-Orthodox grumbling, the Jerusalem Municipality told the Jerusalem Post:

"Just like the municipality pays for hundreds of menoras to go up all over the city during Hanukka, and just like we assist with preparations for Ramadan, we also distribute Christmas trees. There are people of faith from the world's three major religions living in the city, and we respect them all and want them to enjoy their respective holidays."

In the interviews Santa seemed exceptionally articulate and diplomatic.

Back home now, I Googled to find the Reuters photos. Reuters identifies Santa is "Israeli Arab Issa Kassassieh." Indeed, I heard him speaking Arabic when he was not on camera.

He was a jolly good fellow.

Oh, and his name, Issa, is Arabic for Jesus.

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The Christmas tree that came out on top

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The best--and almost only--place in Jerusalem to find Christmas decorations is inside the walled Old City.
Yesterday, for That's My World Tuesday, I walked all around the Christian Quarter in search of the red and green.

The inflated Santa Claus waved me into the arcade of the old Imperial Hotel.
I found it hilarious that a Christmas tree was standing atop the little-known column!

If you click to enlarge the photo you can see the inscription:
M • IVNIO MAXIMO LEG AVGG ANTONINIANA LEG • X • FR C DOM SERG IVL HONORATVS STREIV

The Latin is a votive inscription to Marcus Maximus, a legate of the Tenth Legion, Fretensis.

Walk inside the gate under the sign "Hotel Imperial" to find the Santa.

The hotel is just inside the Jaffa Gate that we talked about in yesterday's post.

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When foundations for the hotel were being dug in 1884-89 the column shaft was found, along with roof tiles stamped LEG X FR. The kiln where the Roman Xth Legion Frentensis soldiers made the ceramics can be seen in earlier posts, here and here.

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We here in Israel remember this unit as the one which conquered the city and destroyed the Second Temple. They were garrisoned in the city until the late 3rd century.
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I really wonder how the pagan conqueror Marcus Maximus would feel if he could see the Christian Christmas tree standing on top of his column which is now in the capital of a sovereign Jewish state.

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"Angels we have heard on high . . . "

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Walking past the YMCA last Sunday morning I was delightfully surprised to hear the bells begin ringing.

The bells were playing Christmas carols!

Yes, there is a Young Men's Christian Association in the heart of Jewish Jerusalem!
In the new city, across the street from the King David Hotel.

The neo-Byzantine-style complex was designed by Arthur Loomis Harmon, architect of the Empire State Building.

More facts about the Y are in a previous post.

British General Edmund Lord Allenby dedicated the building in 1933, and some visionary words from his speech appear above the bench. Click the photo to enlarge.

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I love the fact that Jerusalem is rich with different faiths and that no one has a problem if Christmas carols are in the air that we all breathe.

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Nazareth midnight mass on Internet, live

Midnight mass in Nazareth will be broadcast live in half an hour on Israel TV and on the Internet. You can go to http://iba.org.il/media/ and click on "Christmas Mass" at 11:55 pm Israel time. We are GMT +2 hours.
I imagine a video of it will be available there afterwards, on Christmas Day.

Happy Chanuka from my computer to yours!

It's really only the 4th day, so tonight we lit 4 + 1 candles.

Right after watching midnight mass on my little notebook computer, I am going to pack it up and together we will head to Ben-Gurion Airport. Saturday morning, God willing, I'll be in Australia!

So goodbye for a few days. Merry Christmas or happy Chanuka to all you friends out there!
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Wise men

Wise men with gifts.

Welcome to W at ABC Wednesday.

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Merry Christmas to all the Christian friends.

Man-child on the burro

Donkeys are the best! This unique manger scene inside a warm donkey was made in Peru.
A very moving telling of the trip to and from Bethlehem, as told by the donkey, was written by cowboy poet and veterinarian, Dr. Baxter Black. You can find it here.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Camera-Critters is a meme for all animal lovers to visit and join. Who is YOUR favorite animal? Come over and post it, welcome.

Red leaves and green leaves

Latroun Monastery, home to Trappist monks, is the only place in Israel I have ever seen poinsettias growing.
These are pictures from last December.

Here's the story (from Wikipedia):
"The plants' association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson 'blossoms' sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan monks in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations."

Sax and the Santa Claus

Just when I was despairing of every finding anything in Jewish Jerusalem to post about Christmas decorations . . . voila! One shop over in the (Arab) Christian Quarter of the Old City had photo-blog fodder.
But why is this Santa Claus playing a saxophone?
 Is he collecting for the Salvation Army?
And why has he ditched the reindeer in favor of a hot air balloon?
This is not as I remember . . . .
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