The varieties of religious branches

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The Palm Sunday procession begins high on the Mount of Olives.
The people walk down, cross the Kidron Valley, and enter the Old City of Jerusalem through Lions Gate (St. Stephan's Gate).
The concluding prayer is in the courtyard of the Crusader church St. Anne's.

I have so many photos from the walk of 2007, but here I have selected the ones that show different varieties of branches carried on Palm Sunday.

A long stream of pilgrims!  (You can click a few times to enlarge the photos.)

The friends who took me with them back then in 2008 brought olive branches from their trees in the Jerusalem Hills.

The Old City in the distance.

In the magenta hat, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal.

Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani).
And one Arab Scout.  
See the other Scouts in this post.

And bringing up the rear, last but not least,  girl- and boy-soldiers, IDF Border Guards.
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Happy Palm Sunday to all the Western Christians who are celebrating today!
You are welcome to see my two Palm Sunday albums:
At the Holy Sepulchre 2007
The procession from Mt. of Olives 2008
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Palms and Psalms

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Happy Palm Sunday to the Christians!

I bring you some pictures from the procession in which nuns and monks, clergy and the faithful, Arab Scouts and a few Jewish police walk together from the Mount of Olives down to St. Stephen's Gate and into the Old City of Jerusalem.
The photos are from 2007 but it is the same every year, with people carrying palm fronds and olive branches. I read that today a white donkey walked at the head of the procession.

It is also Sunday number 56 in Robert Geiss' PsalmChallenge at Daily Athens Photo blog.
So here is Psalm 56.

1 To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be gracious to me, O God, for men trample upon me; all day long foemen oppress me; 2 my enemies trample upon me all day long, for many fight against me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They band themselves together, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they have waited for my life, 7 so recompense them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

8 Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! Are they not in thy book?
9 Then my enemies will be turned back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust without a fear. What can man do to me?

12 My vows to thee I must perform, O God;

I will render thank offerings to thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, yea, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life.
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You can see my two slideshows, also from 2007:
Palm Sunday at the Holy Sepulchre
and
Palm Sunday procession .
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Entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday

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For me it is the day before Pesach, a day for cleaning the cupboards of the last vestiges of bread, cookies, pasta, etc.--anything that may have touched leavening. Tomorrow we start a week of eating matsa, the hard "bread of affliction," instead of soft bread.
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But for Christians, today is Palm Sunday and I wish you all a joyous holy day.
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If I were a braver blogger, I would have gone to the Holy Sepulchre to get you fresh photos of the festivities.
I should explain that this ancient church is not your modern orderly type of church. It has no pews or chairs. You do not have your own space.
Instead you have surging masses of pilgrims, the press of bodies, a lack of air.

Last time I was in the huge church for Palm Sunday, I was literally trapped in the crowd and could not force my way to the only door.
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But my pictures from 2007 are basically no different from what is happening this very day and year.
So I invite you to see my previous slideshows, from the comfort of our own homes:

• Morning services for Palm Sunday in the Holy Sepulchre
• Afternoon pilgrimage of the faithful from Mt. of Olives to the Old City

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Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Today is Palm Sunday. Christians around the world mark Jesus' "triumphal entry into Jerusalem."

And Jerusalem is THE place to celebrate this first day of Holy Week!

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However, today my one-year-old grandson Eyal made his triumphal entry into my house and we had a great day together, just the two of us. So I could not cover the prayer services and the procession for you. But things don't change much from year to year, only the faces of new pilgrims from abroad; so I offer you my photos of Palm Sunday 2007.

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On Palm Sunday morning, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional place of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, each of the various Christian communities has a time for their public worship. I hope you can feel the spirit (or Spirit) of the joyful throngs in the church through my photos in the Picasa album.

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In the afternoon everyone gathers on the Mount of Olives to begin a joyful procession all the way down to the Old City, entering the city walls through the Lions (St. Stephan's) Gate, and gathering again at the old Crusader church of St. Anne's. En route there is singing and dancing and waving of palm fronds and olive branches. (And lots of security.) Click here to zip through a slideshow of the colorful scenes of pilgrims, monastics, clergy, and mounted police.

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If you still have time, you might enjoy my story about a donkey in the Garden of Gethsemane.

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Happy Palm Sunday to all the Christian friends (except for the Greek Orthodox who celebrate it one week from today).
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Scouts

On the big Christian feast days the Arab Scout troops of East Jerusalem are in their element.

They march and their bands add the music, including bagpipes and drums.
These photos are from the Palm Sunday pilgrims' procession of last year.

R is for Reality (ABC Wednesday Part 3)

R is also for Israeli reality.
Riding horses in the Palm Sunday procession from the Mt. of Olives to the Old City. Mounted police are part of the security forces in old Jerusalem.


Riot police (Yasam units) on the ready for any trouble.
  "Remember." One of the plaques at the numerous sites of suicide bombings and terrorist acts, all over the city, many from the second intifada, naming the victims so they will be remembered.

Razor wire.
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Procession of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday afternoon everyone gathers on the Mount of Olives and then begin a joyful procession all the way down to the Old City, entering the city walls through the Lions (St. Stephan's) Gate, and gathering again at the old Crusader church of St. Anne. En route there is singing and dancing and waving of palm fronds and olive branches. Oh, and lots of security.

My pictures from last year can be seen small on the slideshow or big at http://picasaweb.google.com/ponddina/ProcessionPalmSunday2007 .

And a link to the previous post's photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ponddina/PalmSundayAtHolySepulchre2007