The Olive Tree

Holy Land Christians And The Olive Tree

The olive tree is ideal for the environment all through the West Bank, especially in the area around Bethlehem. It does not need much soil for its roots to flourish, nor does it require much water to grow, but its lifetime spans generations. The tradition is that one plants olive trees for oneself, but also for future generations. Christ told his disciples to learn from the fruit-bearing trees.

Every year the farmers of the Holy Land pick the olives in the middle of October. During the same season, they cut (prune) some of the branches. The pruning idea is to open the tree to let the sun well lights the fruits and the foliage inside. The pruning of olive trees must be done with hand saw not electric because the smoke that come from the diesel or gas saws affects the taste of olives and the olive oil.

Christians in the Bethlehem area are a whole lot like olive trees. After two thousand years there are still faithful Christians living there. They are descendants of those first who followed Jesus. Christians live mostly in Bethlehem area, East Jerusalem and in Nazareth.  Christians of the Holy Land are mostly Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant (Lutherans & Methodists). They have been faithful followers of Christ through the ages. They have lived in the land of their ancestors, some working in the same terraced olive gardens that have been around since the Romans controlled these lands, some two thousand years ago.

"In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night": Luke 2:8. Beit Sahour is a little village, just east of Bethlehem. It is the town known for the Shepherds' Field, and is so beautiful. One can see shepherds tending their sheep, even today. It is mostly a Christian village. It is here that the olivewood workshops are found.

It has never been easy for the faithful Christians. There have been all kinds of troubles: during Roman times they had to hide in caves to worship; through the Ottoman Empire and the times of the Crusaders many left. But never has it been this bad: In 1948, Christians comprised about 18% of the Holy Land population; now there are less than 1%. Imagine the land of Jesus with no Christians. The churches are just museums, no longer lovingly tended by Christians.

Like the olive trees, the Christians of the Holy Land have spanned generations. They have labored and loved their land. They have tended it carefully, and lovingly tell the stories.

More than 1000 Christian artisans and their families carve these breathtaking religious figures for living. We need to help them stay. We must carefully tend to our roots.

Why the Olive Tree?

The olive tree is native to the Holy Land, where it has been cultivated since ancient times. According to historians, the first olive groves took root in the Holy Land and along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean around 4,000 B.C.

The Bible contains many references to the culinary and religious uses of olives and olive oil. In the Book of Genesis, the dove sent out from the ark by Noah returned with an olive branch (Genesis 8:11). Here it became the great symbol of peace and goodwill, indicating the end of God's anger. And its recognition by Noah suggests that it was already a well-known tree. Also, the use of the olive tree for carvings was mentioned in 1 Kings Chapter 6, "And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree... and for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree... also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree."

The olive tree is connected to our Christian faith as Jesus prayed under an olive tree on his way to Jerusalem, after the last supper, and before his crucifixion. Even the cross upon which Jesus was crucified was made of olive wood taken from the olive trees near the garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.

More than any other plant, the olive tree symbolizes the Holy Land it has been called: "The Sacred Tree", "The Peace Tree", "The Tree of Light", and "The Tree of Legends". The olive tree represents the Holy Land in all religions. "The olive tree stands as a perfect personification of man's historical memory in the Holy Land. It is the tree with the highest endurance and fruitful capacity. It is the sign of peace between God and mankind.”