According to the Julian Calendar, which is the liturgical calendar of the Oriental and Orthodox Churches, the Holy Week has begun with the holiday of Palm Sunday on 8th of April 2012. The feast was celebrated to commemorate the day of Jesus' triumphal entry to Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago. The celebration "Palm Sunday" took its name after the events that happened in Jerusalem at that day, when people praising the Lord, welcomed Him with palm branches as He rode into the city on a donkey's colt. "A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road." (Matthew 21:8)

This year, on behalf of Travelujah, I had a chance to participate in the celebrations of Palm Sunday by Bethlehem's Orthodox and Syriac Christian communities.

Palm Sunday is celebrated on the sixth and last Sunday of the Lent. The celebration always falls on the Sunday before Easter and marks the beginning of the Holy Week. It commemorates the day of Jesus' triumphal entry to Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago. The feast is called "Palm Sunday" because the people of Jerusalem praising the Lord, welcomed Him with palm branches as He rode into the city on a donkey's colt. "A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road." (Matthew 21:8)

This year, Palm Sunday was celebrated by the Catholic community of Bethlehem, the town of Jesus' birth. Hundreds of worshippers ga

Every Friday during Lent, Catholic Christians of Bethlehem gather in different places of the town to perform the spiritual Way of the Cross, which commemorates the final events of Christ's crucifixion - which also happened on a Friday. The Via Dolorosa consists of 14 Stations which represent Jesus' final walk through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying the Cross.

During the procession the faithful move from one "station" to the next and stop

Jericho - Garden City

Jericho is a special place, definitely worth visiting, as it is the lowest (230 meters below the sea lever) and the oldest (around 10 000 years) town on Earth. Arriving in Jericho you will be astonished by its natural setting, with its vibrant colours, aromatic fragrances and the backdrop of the Dead Sea and Moab Mountains beyond in Jordan. The city has a subtropical climate making it a perfect place for flora and fauna to thrive.

Jericho can be called an oasis as it is situated on a very rich land with a couple of perennial springs, surrounded by the wilderness of Judean Desert. For its perfect agricultural conditions, the town looks nowadays like a great plantation - dates, cabbages, eggplants, lettuce, zucchini and many more kinds of vegetables are grown here to support the people. In the winter tim