Merry Christmas!

Given I was up until almost 4AM and then couldn’t sleep because I slept too much on the plane I only got a few hours of sleep. That said, I had a wonderful Christmas and I hope y’all did too!

I woke up to the prayers of the Mosque early in the morning, and then again to my neighbor yelling “Thank God, thank God, thank God!” I think he was happy for another day. I eventually forced myself out of bed around 9AM to make myself presentable for breakfast. My guesthouse is very Euro (i.e. I can touch the opposite walls with my arms extended) and of course I couldn’t figure out how to get hot water this morning, so wet wipe shower it was.

I could smell breakfast wafting from upstairs. My tummy was rumbling (Transaero is not the best for in-air meals), so I followed my nose to Johnny’s apartment. I knocked, but no answer and I could hear voices so I decided to enter. When I opened the door I had this odd combination of comfort yet feeling out of place. Out of place because I was being served breakfast by Johnny and his kids in his home, decorated for Christmas, on Christmas day. I felt like I was intruding. Yet, comfortable as he and the 6 other guests warmly welcomed me to sit down and eat the homemade meal.

Ignoring my anti-carb regimen I dove into the freshly made pancakes and slathered them with cream and nutella and slurped down the freshly brewed tea. I quickly learned all the guests had been here to see the midnight mass. There was one man on holiday from LA, a few French people, 3 German girls backpacking, and an elderly Norwegian gentleman that started to talk my ear off about his efforts to promote peace here and his efforts to promote organic farming throughout Europe and the US. He would be a perfect Berkeley resident. The Norwegian took his leave from the table and sat watching the mass on TV. He began chanting with the priests giving the rest of us background music while we shared stories.

I learned that my host was on TV and interviewed by multiple stations about Bethlehem. I guess he’s locally world famous and gets requests for interviews a lot. His house (the guesthouse) is surrounded on three sides by the wall that separates Israel from Palestinian territory (CBS interview: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7406228n).

His house on the left with the wall wrapping around it on the right.

He was also explaining that Bethlehem started out with a majority of Christians and now the area has only 2% representing the different faiths because they often leave. In his words, “They cannot live, they cannot be happy. They are stuck in between the battle of Israel and Palestine.” This is a new view point I hadn’t considered, but a topic that I didn’t really want to delve into on Christmas day, so I happily accepted his change of topic while he was giving me a tour in his Peugeot on the way to the Old City.

He showed me the view to Jericho and into Jordan. The view back into Jerusalem. The view of the Old City with the mosque side by side the Church of the Nativity. Once again he got me front and center into the square to dropped me off to start my self-guided tour. Before parting ways he insisted I call him for a ride or not to get into a taxi unless the price was less than 20 shekels. Feeling like I had a surrogate father, I thanked him and told him not to worry.

Off I went into the square and immediately could hear people playing music which drew me in. There were people dancing, singing, and celebrating as they waited to get into the church. The vibe was joyful and celebratory. I took a video.



I decided to wander in the other direction into Manger square and up through the shopped line streets reminiscent of Morocco (Danielle, I wish you were with me right now, you would love it!). Colors, spices, smells, wandering through alleyways....Coley is happy!

The Mosque

Looking up into the market lined street.

Super happy Coley!

At some point I decided to head back to the church. When I got there I could hear more music and could see an undulating mass of people outside the church. As I got closer, it was a group of priests from Mexico, playing a myriad of instruments while a huge crowd was dancing around them.

One of the priests singing and playing la guitarra.

His backup crew.

Look at my video, and you can see the swaying and rocking from me joining in (sorry if it makes you dizzy). Everyone was laughing, smiling, singing...such an amazing experience this feeling of connectedness from joy with total strangers.

The musicians led us into the cloister area where they gathered around a St. Jude statue in the center and the rest of us danced around them.

In the cloister.

Inside the Church of the Nativity with its chandeliers.

I finally made my way into St. Catherine’s church, which is where they do midnight mass. It was smaller than I thought it would be. I’m not usually a church person, my church is out in nature, but I always like to sit in them a get a sense of the vibe. Some churches feel oppressive and really negative to me, while others feel sterile, and others feel warm and comforting. St. Catherine, to me, felt happy. Maybe I was picking up on everyone being there in such a good mood, but regardless I could have sat there forever.

I moved onto the Church of the Nativity which was crowded and chaotic. It was adorned in chandeliers hanging from a wood roof and multiple glass lanterns in different colors.

I just thought this was a beautiful physical
manifestation of people's prayers on Christmas Day.

I also like that one prayer helps lights another.

People were amassed in line to go down into the grotto to see the site of Jesus’ birth. I found a back door line and quickly made it down there to watch mass in the grotto. A Franciscan monk was giving mass in Latin in a space no larger than 3ft x 4ft with people clambering to take pictures.

I watched as people were so caught up in the act of getting pics that they forgot to just be there in the moment. Take the time people! Be in the moment. Your picture memories will be that much better if you take time to absorb it. Promise! I took my moment. Then turned around and had one of the monks help me get down to where the 14 pointed star marks the spot of Jesus’ birth. It’s so amazing to be someplace where religion comes to life.

I toured the rest of the church then headed out via the door of humility over to the Milk Grotto.

The door of humility because you
have to duck to get through.

This was less than impressive for me. It is supposedly where Mary and Joseph stopped to feed Jesus during their flight from Egypt and where a drop of milk spilled onto the rock turning it white. According to the Lonely Planet the legend has it that the rock will increase fertility and milk production in women who eat the rock. No thanks!

Everyone comes to touch this painting
in the Milk Grotto. You can see the magical
white rock surrounding it.

I made my way back to the church when I got a txt from a friend I made on the plane. An avid traveler, John, was here helping to film a project for unify.org. Spreading the message of universal love and a shift in consciousness post-Mayan Apocalypse. Yesterday his group filmed Palestinians forming a human peace sign. Today, in response, young Israelis were forming a human heart on Mt. Zion. He managed to make it over to Bethlehem for a quick meet up and tour through the old city.

We met up in St. Catherine’s and watched a little of their mass then headed out to Manger Square, both of us famished for food. We got roasted corn after some haggling and language barriers then made our way back through the streets meandering, comparing past, present, and future travel plans while looking for more sustenance.

Mass at St. Catherine's

He asked, “so are doing a Pilgrimage here?” This is probably the 5th time someone has asked me in some way shape or form “why Israel?” For the first time, I answered “I don’t know why I am here, but I think the reason will show itself soon.” I went through the mechanics of how it happened but I don’t have a good reason for being here other than it is a place that I always wanted to go to, my friend urged me to go, there is an amazing amount of spiritual and cultural history in this very small nation, and for some reason everything  came together very easily to get here. When things come together that easily I usually figure there is a reason and it will reveal itself. My last few trips were like that. In hindsight the last one was about the spirit of adventure, the one before that, spontaneity, the one before that, freedom. I know, I know, why does a vacation need a theme? Why can’t it be about relaxing? Yours can be about relaxing, mine just seem to always have a theme that comes out (sometimes in hindsight, sometimes in the midst). Oddly, I am quite relaxed and haven’t been here for 24 hours yet. That’s a rarity for me.

Anyway, we found sustenance at a local cafe and from there sent him off to Jerusalem to join his friends. Tomorrow I’ll be heading to the Old City in Jerusalem and we’ll meet up again. I made my way back to the square I tried calling Johnny for a ride but now my cell wouldn’t work so I took it at as my cue to enjoy the walk back home.

I meandered along the main road. I stopped in Stars & Bucks coffee shop at the request of my friend (with a pic to prove it).

As requested, Soffer.

I enjoyed the views into Jerusalem, Jericho, and back towards the Old City. 

Everywhere I went tourists and locals wished each other a genuine Merry Christmas. 

The Old City behind me.

Two miles down the road I came to the wall and followed that to my guest house. 

At the corner before I got home was graffiti that read: Love is my religion. Recognizing our shared humanity can overcome ANY division imposed on us. 

I sat there absorbing it and thought how true it is. After all, all religions are built on love: self love, love for others, love for humanity, and love for terra firma. The devil is, quite literally, in the details. This simple graffiti message resonated with me and I thought maybe this is my theme? I certainly felt it dancing with hundreds of other people from different ethnicities, faiths, and ages. That to me is the true spirit of Christmas: sharing love.