Rare is the traveler that does not acquire certain objects on route. Objects of religious significance are sought-after purchases, including jewelry, handmade candles, pictures and olive-wood carvings. Natural products are popular gifts, too (cosmetics and beauty care products from the Dead Sea, spices, locally grown herbs, olive oil). Other recommended Israeli products include handicrafts, pottery, glass and leatherwear. Not to be forgotten are videos and books, and of course, lots of personal snapshots guaranteed to keep the memories alive for years to come. One of the most treasured possessions a pilgrim will take home from Israel is a “Pilgrimage Certificate.” This may be issued by the tour operating company or
Early pilgrims were always searching for pieces of the true cross, the remnants of cloth worn by the Virgin Mary, and other holy relics. Though what may be termed “the age of the relic” flourished between 1000 and1200 AD, pilgrims in the fifth and sixth centuries mention the horn of oil used to anoint David and Solomon as King of Israel, as a recognized relic then. With the onset of the modern wave of Holy Land pilgrimage travel, and the recognition that part of the pleasure of traveling in foreign places, comes from acquiring and accumulating tangible objects that are pregnant with meaning in their own right, or take on significant because of the circumstances under which they were obtained, this custom was reinvented in the form of souvenirs. Mementoes are the stuff of which memories are enriched and maintained, and just as in the early Byzantine Christian world, when an important goal of a pilgrimage was to find, salvage and possess a relic of Jesus and His followers and the objects they touched, or a memento of the places visited by these holy forefathers, so do most modern pilgrims make an effort to bind memory to reality with the aid of tokens of their trip.
a religious organization or site, bearing witness forever to the pilgrim’s stay in the Holy Land. Christian groups visiting Jerusalem - as all of them probably do - can receive pilgrimage certificates in a variety of languages, signed by Israel’s Minister of Tourism and the Mayor of Jerusalem. Stores displaying the Ministry of Tourism emblem offer purchasers the possibility of VAT refund (currently 17 percent - to be arranged at the airport upon departure). Study & Prayer The average pilgrimage tour does not allow much time for study sessions. However, even one or two evening lectures during the course of a tour will add content and interest. Some of the study possibilities include: A) Inviting speakers on a variety of subjects to the hotel, at convenient times; B) Holding on-the-spot discussions at local sites; C) Including structured study sessions of one, two, or
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