The Olive Wood Artisans of Beit Sahour
Some time ago, we wrote about the special connection the city of Beit Sahour has to the Nativity story, being the place where the shepherds were told of the birth of Jesus by the angelic host. It is a claim to Biblical fame that the Sahori (the Palestinian Arabic-language term used for townspeople from Beit Sahour) hold close to their hearts, for they are known for their love of folklore, oral tradition, and sense of community identity. Among their many traditions, few are held in such importance as the olive wood handicraft industry.
Anyone who has ever gone on pilgrimage to the Holy Land will no doubt attest to the number of souvenir shops that sell olive wood products. To the people of the Holy Land, the olive tree is symbolic of connectivity to their homes and communities and even takes on a religious significance. The olive tree is the first flora specifically mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Genesis with the story of Noah and the dove returning with the olive branch!) and it was most certainly olive oil that David was anointed with by Samuel (Samuel 1:16). Later on, as regent, David even appoints a special minister for olive trees (1 Chronicles 27:28). Throughout the history of the Holy Land, olive groves were deemed so significant to agriculture and the economy that groves and even specific trees were willed to relatives as an inheritance. In a land without many trees, even olive wood could never be taken for granted, which is perhaps part of the motivation behind the development of olive wood handicraft artisanry. Lightweight, easy to carve, and immediately identifiable, it no small wonder why carved and crafted olive wood products have been the favored memento of Christian pilgrims throughout the centuries.
The village of Beit Sahour is considered the center of the Holy Land olive wood industry. While many olive wood workshops still exist in Nazareth and Bethlehem, and the nearby Christian village of Beit Jala is known for specifically known for manufacturing olive wood camel and donkey figurines, Beit Sahour has the largest number of individuals employed in the craft. The olive wood handicraft trade as we know it today seems to have its origins with the rise of Catholic pilgrims to the Holy Land some centuries ago. Some of the first rosaries for Catholic pilgrims made in Bethlehem olive wood shops during the Ottoman era used olive pits for beads. Today, the process of making olive wood handicraft products is slightly more complex, with both advanced machinery and the use of some digital technology, but the trade is essentially the same as it has always been, requiring a steady, expert hand, knowledge of the wood, a good eye, and, on occasion, a bit of ingenuity. A true artisan can spend weeks, if not months, on a single figurine or complex Nativity set. Olive wood handicrafts are so symbolic of the Palestinian Christian community of Bethlehem that visiting church leaders and presidential delegations to the region are most often given olive wood crosses, Nativity sets, and statuettes of Biblical figures or Christian saints to remember their visit.
While the modern city of Beit Sahour is much different than the picturesque scenes of a Middle Eastern village depicted on Christmas cards and Biblical films, the living tradition of the Christian community continues, and with it, olive wood handicrafts. So on your next visit to Bethlehem, take an afternoon to stroll through the city of Beit Sahour and listen to the sound of olive wood artisans at their workbenches or on their lathes, and stop to smell the scent of wood shavings and sawdust in the air. Chances are you will be invited in for tea, and perhaps there or in some shop, you will find something special that you wish to remember your visit to Beit Sahour, "House of the Shepherds", to bring home and have a cherished memory of your Holy Land pilgrimage.
Be Not Afraid!
Good Shepherd Travel offers trips to olive wood handicraft workshops and stores in Beit Sahour as part of their Holy Land tours. Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, Ireland, and many other destinations are among our most popular programs. For more information on how to begin preparing for a pilgrimage in late 2020 or in 2021, contact Tony AbuAita at Tony@goodshepherdtravel.com. We will return to pilgrimage – and we hope to see you with us!