Christmas tree-tradition and custom worldwide

Christmas tree is today an integral part of Christmas day celebration throughout the world. It appears a great idea to me to compile the brief history of Christmas tree and the related customs around the world to add to the festivities. Merry Christmas to all readers .

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood were scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.

Christmas Trees around the World

Canada
German settlers migrated to Canada from the United States in the 1700s. They brought with them many of the things associated with Christmas we cherish today—Advent calendars, gingerbread houses, cookies—and Christmas trees. When Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1848, the Christmas tree became a tradition throughout England, the United States, and Canada.

Mexico
In most Mexican homes the principal holiday adornment is el Nacimiento (Nativity scene). However, a decorated Christmas tree may be incorporated in the Nacimiento or set up elsewhere in the home. As purchase of a natural pine represents a luxury commodity to most Mexican families, the typical arbolito (little tree) is often an artificial one, a bare branch cut from a copal tree (Bursera microphylla) or some type of shrub collected from the countryside.

Britain
The Norway spruce is the traditional species used to decorate homes in Britain. The Norway spruce was a native species in the British Isles before the last Ice Age, and was reintroduced here before the 1500s.

Greenland
Christmas trees are imported, as no trees live this far north. They are decorated with candles and bright ornaments.

Guatemala
The Christmas tree has joined the “Nacimiento” (Nativity scene) as a popular ornament because of the large German population in Guatemala. Gifts are left under the tree on Christmas morning for the children. Parents and adults do not exchange gifts until New Year’s Day.

Brazil
Although Christmas falls during the summer in Brazil, sometimes pine trees are decorated with little pieces of cotton that represent falling snow.

Ireland
Christmas trees are bought anytime in December and decorated with colored lights, tinsel, and baubles. Some people favor the angel on top of the tree, others the star. The house is decorated with garlands, candles, holly, and ivy. Wreaths and mistletoe are hung on the door.

Sweden
Most people buy Christmas trees well before Christmas Eve, but it’s not common to take the tree inside and decorate it until just a few days before. Evergreen trees are decorated with stars, sunbursts, and snowflakes made from straw. Other decorations include colorful wooden animals and straw centerpieces.

Norway
Nowadays Norwegians often take a trip to the woods to select a Christmas tree, a trip that their grandfathers probably did not make. The Christmas tree was not introduced into Norway from Germany until the latter half of the 19th century; to the country districts it came even later. When Christmas Eve arrives, there is the decorating of the tree, usually done by the parents behind the closed doors of the living room, while the children wait with excitement outside. A Norwegian ritual known as “circling the Christmas tree” follows, where everyone joins hands to form a ring around the tree and then walk around it singing carols. Afterwards, gifts are distributed.

Ukraine
Celebrated on December 25th by Catholics and on January 7th by Orthodox Christians, Christmas is the most popular holiday in the Ukraine. During the Christmas season, which also includes New Year’s Day, people decorate fir trees and have parties.

Spain
A popular Christmas custom is Catalonia, a lucky strike game. A tree trunk is filled with goodies and children hit at the trunk trying to knock out the hazel nuts, almonds, toffee, and other treats.

Italy
In Italy, the presepio (manger or crib) represents in miniature the Holy Family in the stable and is the center of Christmas for families. Guests kneel before it and musicians sing before it. The presepio figures are usually hand-carved and very detailed in features and dress. The scene is often set out in the shape of a triangle. It provides the base of a pyramid-like structure called the ceppo. This is a wooden frame arranged to make a pyramid several feet high. Several tiers of thin shelves are supported by this frame. It is entirely decorated with colored paper, gilt pine cones, and miniature colored pennants. Small candles are fastened to the tapering sides. A star or small doll is hung at the apex of the triangular sides. The shelves above the manger scene have small gifts of fruit, candy, and presents. The ceppo is in the old Tree of Light tradition which became the Christmas tree in other countries. Some houses even have a ceppo for each child in the family.

South Africa
Christmas is a summer holiday in South Africa. Although Christmas trees are not common, windows are often draped with sparkling cotton wool and tinsel.

Philippines
Fresh pine trees are too expensive for many Filipinos, so handmade trees in an array of colors and sizes are often used. Star lanterns, or parol, appear everywhere in December. They are made from bamboo sticks, covered with brightly colored rice paper or cellophane, and usually feature a tassel on each point. There is usually one in every window, each representing the Star of Bethlehem.

China
Of the small percentage of Chinese who do celebrate Christmas, most erect artificial trees decorated with spangles and paper chains, flowers, and lanterns. Christmas trees are called “trees of light.”

Japan
For most of the Japanese who celebrate Christmas, it’s purely a secular holiday devoted to the love of their children. Christmas trees are decorated with small toys, dolls, paper ornaments, gold paper fans and lanterns, and wind chimes. Miniature candles are also put among the tree branches. One of the most popular ornaments is the origami swan. Japanese children have exchanged thousands of folded paper “birds of peace” with young people all over the world as a pledge that war must not happen again.

Georgia

The Georgians have their own traditional Christmas tree called Chichilaki, made from dried up hazelnut or walnut branches that are shaved to form a small coniferous tree. These pale-colored ornaments differ in height from 20 cm (7.9 in) to 3 meters (9.8 feet). Chichilakis are most common in the Guria and Samegrelo regions of Georgia near the Black Sea, but they can also be found in some stores around the capital of Tbilisi. Georgians believe that Chichilaki resembles the famous beard of St. Basil the Great, who is thought to visit people during Christmas similar to the Santa Claus tradition.

Poland

There was an old pagan custom of suspending at the ceiling a branch of fir, spruce or pine called Podłaźniczka associated with Koliada. The branches were decorated with apples, nuts, cookies, colored paper, stars made of straw, ribbons and colored wafers. Some people believed that the tree had magical powers that were linked with harvesting and success in the next year.In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, these traditions were almost completely replaced by the German custom of decorating the Christmas tree.

Estonia and Latvia

Customs of erecting decorated trees in wintertime can be traced to Christmas celebrations in Renaissance-era guilds in Northern Germany and Livonia. The first evidence of decorated trees associated with Christmas Day are trees in guildhalls decorated with sweets to be enjoyed by the apprentices and children. In Livonia (present-day Latvia and Estonia), in 1441, 1442, 1510 and 1514, the Brotherhood of Blackheads erected a tree for the holidays in their guild houses in Riga and Reval (now Tallinn). On the last night of the celebrations leading up to the holidays, the tree was taken to the Town Hall Square where the members of the brotherhood danced around it. A Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 reports that a small tree decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers" was erected in the guild-house for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas Day. In 1584, the pastor and chronicler Balthasar Russow in his Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt (1584) wrote of an established tradition of setting up a decorated spruce at the market square where the young men "went with a flock of maidens and women, first sang and danced there and then set the tree aflame".

My Tryst with Jesus-14 Station to the cross

The Via Dolorosa is the road Jesus walked from the place of Pontius Pilate’s sentencing to Golgotha (the location of the crucifixion), and is the most sacred Christian by-way in the world. It gives an amazing feeling when one walks this road.   Of the 14 stations, which Christians have been walking for over a thousand years, the most famous are the Praetorian, where Jesus took up the cross, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Each station is marked with a medallion indicating the station in Roman numerals. I was lucky to witness all the 14 Stations and would like to give the snapshot of these as below:

1^st Station , where Jesus was condemned to death

2^nd Station , where Jesus carries his cross. It was here where Pontius Pilate gave his famous order “Ecce Homo” (behold the man).

3^rd Station, where Jesus falls the first time

4^th Station is the place where Jesus met his mother

5^th Station, where Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

6^th Station is where Veronica had wiped the face of Jesus  creating the Veil of Veronica. The Veil supposedly was imprinted with the image of Christ after she wiped his visage.

7^th Station is where Jesus fell the second time

8^th Station is the place where Jesus met the women of Jerusalem

9^th Station is where Jesus fell the third time

10^th Station is the spot where clothes of Jesus were taken away

11^th Station, where Jesus is nailed on the cross

12^th Station, Jesus dies on the cross

13^th Station, The body of Jesus is brought down from the cross

14^th Station, Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Stations 10-14 are where the present day Church of the holy Sepulchre stands.  By tradition this is the holiest place for Catholic and Orthodox Christians and marks the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and Resurrection. It was completed in 335AD, and its basilica was constructed on the foundations of an ancient Roman temple to Venus (Aphrodite). The actual sepulchre is inside the Edicule, a two-room chapel underneath the church’s. There are separate prayer times for the various denominations.

Entrance to Church of Holy Sepulchre

The Holy Anointing : Immediately upon entering, the church opens up to the southern hall. On the floor lies the Stone of the Anointing or Unction. According to tradition, this is the spot where the church commemorates the preparation of the body of Christ for burial after he was removed from the cross. Christ's body was anointed with myrrh and aloes and wrapped in a clean linen cloth for the burial according to the Jewish tradition of those days. The slab is made from limestone marble and dates to 1808, replacing the previous 12th century slab when it was destroyed. On the outside wall of the Catholicon, behind the stone, is a large mosaic depicting the anointing of Christ for burial.

Latin calvary : To the right of the Stone of the Anointing are a series of steep stairs that lead up to the second floor—the tip of Golgotha. The first room is the place where Christ was nailed to the cross. This chapel is a Catholic Franciscan altar dedicated to the Nailing of the Cross (Station 11 of the Via Dolorosa).

The Rock of Golgotha (place of crucifixion) : Adjacent to this chapel is the second room—the Greek Orthodox Calvary—the spot where Christ was crucified and covers the actual Rock of Golgotha. For the other Christian Churches this is also known as Station 12 of the Via Dolorosa. The entire rock can be seen through the glass covering on either side of the altar, and beneath the altar is a small opening that allows pilgrims to touch the rock.

The Chapel of the Finding of the Cross, according to tradition, is the area where St. Helen discovered the True Cross during the course of the Church's excavations around 330 AD. She discovered three crosses. To discern which of the three crosses belonged to Christ, and which belonged to the thieves, a sick man was brought to touch each one in turn. He was miraculously healed by only one and this is the one that has since been distributed to all Christian Patriarchates across the world.

The Prison of Christ is a small dark area where those crucifying Christ put him temporarily before crucifying him

The Edicule :This structure preserves the location of Christ's tomb.  Though the cave here was carved away by a Muslim ruler 1000 years ago, a clear history remains that this has been the revered location of the tomb. Earlier the Roman emperor Hadrian erected a large platform of earth over the whole area for the construction of a temple to Venus.  Jerome adds to Eusebius' statement that a statue of Jupiter was on the site for 180 years (AD 140-320)  When Constantine converted the empire to Christianity, he had the pagan temples dismantled, the earth removed and a church built over the spot.

I had the most amazing experience here outside the aedicule. There was huge queue outside the aedicule and there was very little time left for us as the bus was to leave after some time and we were getting a reminder to leave quickly from our coordinator. While in the church, we met an Indian Father who was an office bearer in the church. He offered to take two of us in the aedicule because people in the queue will not like breaking of the queue and it would have been unfair to them. Our colleagues decided that our Christian friend can go and one of our senior colleagues desired to go. Obviously there was no two opinions on our Christian friend, I could not speak against my senior colleague although I desperately wanted to enter the tomb of Jesus. I could just murmur in little disappointment that I have seen the birth site of Jesus and I wanted to see the tomb of Jesus too. One of my other colleague said “it’s ok let’s wait for them outside”. I was disappointed. The Father took both of our colleague to the entrance of the tomb.I constantly looked at them. All of a sudden, the Father turned around and he rushed towards me. He caught hold of my arms and pulled me saying “hurry”. I can’t explain the feeling I had. We entered the Tomb and the Father went away. I could feel a heavenly presence for the first time. I just bowed down and touched the Tomb and we came out of the tomb. I felt as if my journey was complete –a feeling of fulfillment and joy inside me.

My Tryst with Jesus : Jerusalem-the holy land

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities of the world. It is considered holy to the Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed, besieged, attacked, captured and recaptured several times. The oldest part of the city dates back to 4th millennium BC.  In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today these walls define the Old City. The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger.  Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries.

Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century BC. The city of Jerusalem is given special status in Jewish religious law. In particular, Jews outside Jerusalem pray facing its direction. Jerusalem has long been embedded into Jewish religious consciousness. Jews have studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there. According to the Hebrew Bible-Tanakh, the First Temple, at the site known as the Temple Mount today, was built by King Solomon and finished in 950 BC, and Mount Moriah is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and talked to God.

In Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. It is considered a sacred site in Sunni Islamic tradition, along with Mecca and Medina. Islamic tradition holds that previous prophets were associated with this city, and that the prophet Muhammad visited the city on a nocturnal journey (Isra and Mi'raj). Due to such significance it was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims and the prophet Muhammad designated the Al-Aqsa for pilgrimage. Muhammad declared himself to be the last prophet of the Judaic-Christian Religions and he created the third monotheistic religion: Islam. The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic sacred shrine in Jerusalem, built on the Temple Mount. This is where Muhammad ascended into heaven and was given the 5 pillars of Islam from Allah, which is still used today. Part of Jerusalem's significance and holiness to Muslims derives from its strong association with Abraham, David, Solomon, and Jesus. They are all regarded as Prophets of Islam and their stories are mentioned in the Qur'an.

In Christian tradition, Jerusalem's place in the life of Jesus gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament. Jerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be "presented" at the Temple and to attend festivals. According to the Gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, especially in the Temple courts. There is also an account of Jesus' "cleansing" of the Temple, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts. At the end of each of the Gospels, there are accounts of Jesus' Last Supper in an "upper room" in Jerusalem, his arrest in Gethseman, his trial, his crucifixion at Golgotha, his burial nearby and his resurrection and ascension.

The Old City is divided into four quarters; each with a unique feel and history The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the quarters and has some interesting museums, shops featuring the distinctive Armenian Pottery, and restaurants.  The Moslem Quarter is alive and crowded with markets and shops and inexpensive but delicious restaurants.  The Christian Quarter has the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in addition to dozens of other churches and historic sites.  The Jewish Quarter has numerous sites many of which are underground, and has the Cardo, an upscale shopping street dating back to Byzantine times. 

The Armenian Quarter occupies the southwest corner of the Old City. It covers one-sixth of the area contained inside the ancient walls. It is believed that between 35 and 25 B.C., the Jewish King, Herod built a fortress and his palace along the western wall of the Quarter which at that time was called The Upper City ( Zion) since it was  relatively on higher ground than the other Quarters.

The Muslim Quarter is the largest and most populated of the four quarters in the Old City. Developed by Herod the Great, organized by the Christian Byzantine Empire, and then occupied by the Christian Crusaders Even this section is full of Churches and Christian shrines. The main streets, El-Wad  and Via are bazaars with Muslim shopkeepers ready to sell the Christian Pilgrim a plastic crucifix or olive wood nativity set. When Jesus walked through these streets during his crucifixion, its believed that these streets were busy then also and perhaps had shops. This area is closer to Closer to the Temple Mount and preserves some of the fine medieval Islamic architecture.

The Christian Quarter is the most visited quarter of the Old City because it includes the site of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection—the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This quarter is cluttered with a seemingly endless cluster of churches and holy sites whose roofs, domes and facades are built so close together that they are undistinguishable. The streets are filled with narrow storefronts leading into shops that continue long narrow paths to the back. The market streets are noisy with modern pilgrims and shopkeepers trying to lure them into their stores.

The Jewish Quarter is a thriving modern community with more than 1,000 families. It has been rebuilt out of the rubble that was left from Jordanian occupation of the area from 1948 until the Six Day War of 1967. Since the destruction was severe, the Jews who returned to the Old City in 1967 excavated the quarter’s archaeological remains first and then built their city over, around and beside the ancientdiscoveries. Today there are numerous synagogues and schools for Jewish studies, along with contemporary shops and restaurants up and down the streets. The ancient Roman Cardo Street (135 AD) with its old Byzantine bazaar (325 AD) has been preserved and is filled with trendy new businesses that sell a wide variety of items, including original art work by local artists.

My most interesting sojourn with the land of Jesus starts from the visit to the last supper room. The Last Supper Room is a second-story room which is popularly called the "upper room" in which Jesus shared the Last Supper with the disciples. It is located directly above the Tomb of David. The present room, which was built in the 12th century may not be the original site.  However, it is possible that it stands over or near the original site of the Last Supper as beneath the floor of the building are Byzantine and Roman pavements and the foundations go back to at least the 2nd century AD. It is possible that the "little church of God" that existed on Mount Zion in 130 AD was on this site. Since danger and persecutions would have excluded Christian invention of a new holy place in the 2nd century, so if an active church existed in 130 AD , it must have already been important for some time — perhaps because the upper room was nearby. Hence, this site is reasonably believed to be the original site of Last supper.

 

Last supper room (upper room)

The upper room is also known as "the Upper Church of the Apostles." This designation referred, however, not to the Last Supper but to the apostles' receiving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which also occurred in an "upper room".

Below the upper room is the tomb of David . It is the thousand-year-old building that houses the Tomb of King David on Mount Zion. .Jews have streamed here for centuries to recite the Psalms written by David, whose life teaches many lessons about human nature.

The tomb is covered with a velvet cloth embroidered with the words David Melech Israel Hai Vekayam, the first song many Jewish children learn. Prayers at King David’s tomb also turn to Jerusalem, which David made the united capital of the tribes of Israel. Visitors are not allowed to switch on their mobile phones when entering the tomb. Even if a visitor doesn’t switches off the mobile , it doesn’t works the moment the visitor reaches the tomb- a miracle or a jammer ! don’t know .

The Temple Mount is of multifaceted religious significance. Historically, it took its shape from the construction of the First and Second Jewish Temples.  At its centre today is the Dome of the Rock, an ornate Islamic shrine built in 691 which marks the spot of Abraham’s offering of Ishmael and the Prophet Mohammed heavenward ascent. It also covers the Foundation Stone- itself considered the holiest site in Judaism. The Dome of the Rock is adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also part of the Temple Mount.

Al aqsa mosque

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second oldest mosque in Islam after the Ka'ba in Mecca, and is third in holiness and importance after the mosques in Mecca and Medina. Al-Aqsa Mosque holds up to 400,000 worshippers at one time, bearing in mind that the space required for each person is roughly 0.8m x 0.5m to enable the submissive kneeling in prayer. There are 11 gates to Al-Aqsa Mosque: 7 of which are open. Of the 4 closed gates, one is the Golden Gate.

The rock from where Prophet Muhammad ascended heaven

The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is one of Judaism's most holy sites and forms part of the western flank of the holy site of the Temple Mount. The wall is the Imposing remnant of Jerusalem's Second Temple, which the Romans destroyed in 70 CE. According to Jewish tradition, despite the temple's destruction, the divine presence never left. While the wall itself stands as an impressive archaeological record from the time of King Herod, the hush that envelops the plaza in front of it as Jews approach the base of the wall to pray is also captivating. Jews come from all over the world to place prayer notes in the wall's crevices. It is believed that all wishes are fulfilled here.

        The place holds a special significance to me as I did make two wishes one for my very dear friend, who was worried about her marriage and the other for my family. Within a decade after I reached India, I came to know she found a handsome guy and her marriage got fixed. She has a happy family now and I am glad that this wish got fulfilled in no time. Of course my other wish also got fulfilled. People write wishes on a piece of paper and put them in the crevices of the wall.

At the western wall (wailing wall)

After this broad account of the holy city, I will be focusing upon the 14 stations to the cross before concluding  description of my tryst with Jesus in the net post.

My tryst with Jesus: Nazreth and around

The town of Nazreth is mentioned 17 times in Gospels and is supposed to be the place where Jesus was raised. Thus, Jesus is also called ‘Jesus of Nazreth’. Situated inside a bowl atop the Nazareth ridge north of the Jezreel valley, Nazareth was a relatively isolated village in the time of Jesus with a population less than two hundred.  Today Nazareth is home to more than 60,000 Israeli Arabs, and Upper Nazareth is home to thousands more Jewish residents.

The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches. It incorporates the cave in which the Virgin Mary received the news from Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus. The site has been a pilgrimage destination since earliest times and remains an important stop for Holy Land pilgrims today. The cave that is enshrined inside the basilica was identified no later than the 4th century as the place of the Annunciation.

The modern Church of the Annunciation is topped with a uniquely-shaped concrete dome. Its shape is based on the Madonna lily, a symbol of the Virgin Mary. Inside, the basilica consists of an upper church and a lower church. The vast upper church is decorated with mosaics of the Virgin donated by communities from around the world.

The lower church centers on the Grotto or Cave of the Annunciation, where the angelic announcement to Mary is believed to have occurred. Also visible down here are remains of the Byzantine and Crusader churches that preceded the present one.

The St. Joseph church is built where, according to tradition, used to be the carpentry workshop of Joseph, father of Jesus. Some of the traditions also claim this was Joseph's house.

This Franciscan church was established in 1914 over the ruins of more ancient churches and is located in the Basilica of Annunciation area. In the crypt (the lower level of the church) there’s an ancient water pit, mosaics, caves and barns from ancient Nazareth that has survived since the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C. One of the cave, according to tradition, was used as Joseph's workshop.

The official symbol of Nazareth is Mary’s Well. Tradition has it that Mary used to bathe young Jesus here, and both Muslims and Christians consider the well and its water to have unusual healing properties. Above the spring that feeds the well is St. Gabriel Church of the Annunciation.

The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias is the largest freshwater lake in Israel. Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee namely, the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James. One of Jesus' famous teaching episodes, the Sermon on the Mount, is supposed to have been given on a hill overlooking the lake. Many of his miracles are also said to have occurred here including his walking on water, calming the storm, the disciples and the boatload of fish, and his feeding five thousand people (in Tabgha).

Jesus travelled from town to town in the region of Galilee. He preached in the Jewish synagogues and healed the sick. He became very popular with the people, and great crowds followed Him wherever He went. One day Jesus went up a mountainside and spoke to His disciples and the crowds of people. This "Sermon on the Mount" outlines the right ways for us to approach God and to deal with other people. Jesus delivered this sermon on a mountain near Capernaum. Tradition ascribes the site to an extinct volcano named Karne Hittim. The mountains is also called mount of Beatitude.

The Sermon on the Mount is the longest piece of teaching from Jesus in the New Testament. To most believers in Jesus, the Sermon contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship. The Sermon takes place relatively early in the Ministry of Jesus, after he has been baptized by John the Baptist. 

The baptismal site on the banks of the Jordan River, Qasr al-Yahud, is the site where according to tradition, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Christian tradition marks this site as the place of the “spiritual birth” of Jesus as opposed to his physical birth in Bethlehem. As such, the baptismal site is of great sacred significance - the third holiest site in the Christian world (after the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem). Until 1967 this site, under Jordanian control, saw visits by masses of tourists and pilgrims. In 1968 access to the site was prohibited because of its location beyond the border fence in a closed military zone. Yardenit, south of the Sea of Galilee, was subsequently created as an alternative site for baptism. Here, where the Jordan River flows from the Sea of Galilee southwards to the Dead Sea, it is believed that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (“Yardenit” is the diminutive form of the name of the Jordan River in Hebrew). In modern times, scores of pilgrims don white robes and get baptized in the same spot.

Nearby Kibbutz Kinneret hosts a Visitors Center that includes a place to rent or buy a white robe, shop for souvenirs, eat, shower and change. Several baptismal pools can be reached by following the Wall of New Life created by an Armenian artist from Jerusalem, which depicts the account from the Gospel of Mark (1:9-11) about the original baptism.

Capernaum is the fishing town that Jesus made his headquarters while he was in Galilee. At Capernaum, there are the remains of an octagonal church which was built in the fifth century. In 1968, archaeologists re-discovered the remains of a much earlier church underneath the 5th century church. This earlier church had been built around what was originally a private house. One room of the house showed signs that it had been used as a meeting place from very early in the Christian era - during the second half of the first century. From the earliest times, followers of Jesus Christ believed that this house was the home of Simon Peter, the leader of Jesus's disciples.  The walls of this room had been plastered, and visitors had scratched prayers mentioning the name of Jesus on the plaster. The name of Peter is also mentioned in the inscriptions. The remains that can still be seen today may be the exact place where Jesus lived.

Capernaum owes its fame to Jesus, who made it the centre of his activities in Galilee, and to the numerous references in the gospels to things that happened there. When Jesus left Nazareth he made Capernaum his home-town.

The fruitful garden of Tabgha, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, is accepted traditionally as the site where Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21). The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes was built here in the fifth century. Modern restoration workers revealed and repaired intricate mosaic floors of the church. Also in Tabgha is the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus is said to have appeared to his disciples after the resurrection.

It was at Cana of the Galilee, hometown of Nathaniel (later known as St. Bartholomew) that Jesus was said to have turned water into wine at the wedding of a poor couple. The Greek Orthodox Church of St. George was built in the late 19th century on the site of the miracle. It houses two of the six stone jars that followers believe Jesus used in performing the miracle.

Today the Arab village of Kafr Cana, this is a popular place to hold weddings or renew wedding vows. The center of the village, which boasts several churches, has been renovated with a promenade and small plazas.

Well, the amazing experience as usual. The experience became all the more unbelievable when I read about these places on my return . I wasn’t aware of the importance of some of the places I visited .I felt so lucky and blessed when I read about these places in details and came to know how important was this for mankind in general and for  Christians in particular.

I will talk about Jerusalem-the holiest site of Christianity in my net post.