What is Lent?
Lent is the sacred 40 day season that prepares the faithful to celebrate the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday, leading into the holiest days of the Christian year: Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Throughout these 40 days, Christians around the world commit to fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, opening the doors of their hearts a little wider and walking closer with the Lord. Lent is a time to reflect on one's actions and words, examine our relationships with God and with others, and ask God to impart the spirit of penance.
Celebrating Easter in the Birthplace of Jesus Christ
What better place to celebrate Easter than the very land where Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again? Holy Week in Jerusalem is a spiritual experience without equal. The world's attention turns to the city of Christ's passion, where pilgrims still walk the path that Jesus walked toward the Cross.
Every Lent, Christian pilgrims from every corner of the world join local Christians in the Holy Land to celebrate Holy Week. Walking the Via Dolorosa, praying at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and breaking bread with families in Bethlehem creates a memory that lasts a lifetime.
The Stations of the Cross
Easter in the Holy Land begins with fasting, just as our Savior fasted for 40 days in the desert. The fast symbolizes compassion and sympathy with the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who bore the stripes of pain and suffering, bowed under the weight of the Cross, shed his blood, and entered the tomb so that we might have eternal life.
In the Holy Land, the Stations of the Cross are celebrated publicly on Fridays throughout the Lenten season, retracing the path of Christ from his condemnation to his burial.
Bethlehem Handicrafts uniquely carves the fourteen stations of Christ's passion on Bethlehem olive wood. Each piece is a priceless reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. "I have come so that they may have life." John 10:10
What Is the Symbolism of Ashes on Ash Wednesday?
The cross shaped ashes placed on the foreheads of worshipers on Ash Wednesday convey the themes of mortality and repentance, reminding us that we are born again and raised from the dead through our redemption in Christ.
The ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, recalling the anointing that took place at baptism. Traditionally, the ash comes from the burned remains of the palm branches blessed at the previous year's Palm Sunday Mass, linking one liturgical year to the next.
10 Things You May Not Know About Lent
Walk in the Footsteps of Christ
Visiting the Holy Land during Lent or Easter leaves a spiritual impact unlike any other journey. If you are looking for an astounding pilgrimage that covers the holy sites of the Holy Land, explore our upcoming pilgrimage tours.
Bring the Lenten journey home with hand carved olive wood crucifixes and the 14 Stations of the Cross set from Bethlehem, created by Christian artisans in the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
May your Lent be a time of reflection and promise.
Bethlehem Handicrafts brings the Holy Land into your hands. Every piece is hand carved in Bethlehem by Christian families preserving an ancient craft.
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