The most Holy of time

For me as a Christian, I am entering the most Holy of times this week. That's why it is appropriately called Holy week. On Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem before the Passion week started. I have grown up in a Dutch Reformed Church, so we never had strict ceremonies or special events. We celebrated the milestone Christian festivals, but did so exactly like we would any other Sunday. So celebrating Palm Sunday in an Anglican Church is something really special to me. This is only the second year I am doing this, but it moves me so much every year.

We go to the St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town, and Palm Sunday for us, starts in the Company Gardens. We get palms that are blessed with Holy Water, and then we start a precession through the gardens, onto Wale Street and into the church. We stop traffic and EVERYBODY looks as sees how we affirm our faith. It is really nice. The priests all dressed up in their best robes, all in red, and wearing their Copes.

Even though this is special to me, it is still pales in comparison to the way Easter and the ceremonies around Easter move me. On Saturday night, the Anglican Church has a Easter Vigil, which is held over midnight on Saturday night. It is amazing. The church starts off dark, and as we go through the liturgy, the lights go brighter and we ring bells to announce the light of Christ in our lives. Then on Easter Sunday morning, a number of Christians from all over Cape Town gather on Signal hill before sunrise, and when the sun rises, they blow on horns and sing loudly to announce the same light. It is something so amazingly moving and spectacular, that I get a tear in my eyes every time I witness it. In fact I am getting a little teary just thinking of it.

So this time of the year is really special to me and deeply religious. I go to church almost very day and its really nice to have someone in my life, who feels the same way.

So to all a very blessed Holy week of reflection, compassion and acceptance.