GZ will take you to an Easter Garden. In centuries gone by – a world where most people were illiterate and uneducated – clerics had to use creative means to get their messages across, and so the practice of using images and tableaux as preaching tools was born. The custom of building an Easter Garden is very ancient, and predates the first nativity scenes by several centuries!
As part of their Easter commemorations, Christians would gather at a scene like the one in front of you (or even at a sepulchre) and begin reading the prophesies from the Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah. As the sun rose, they would leave the cross or the tomb behind and recount stories of the resurrection. Sometimes a play would be performed to compliment this liturgy. In this way, the ceremony appealed to all the senses and became an ‘experience’ in which the worshipper felt like they were taking part in the very first Easter.
As the centuries have passed, people have lost their taste for extended events or rituals, living a more ‘instant’ lifestyle. Customs such as this have been gradually been watered down into the staple hour or two of church which most would be familiar with.
However, the tradition lives on for the most part among Eastern Orthodox Christians, who still have an all night Vigil waiting for the sun to rise on Easter Sunday. In the above picture, Christians in Jerusalem gather at the original sepulchre to begin their Easter ceremony.
While hunting for a spot to plant a new cache, I happened upon this garden. I’d never seen it before despite travelling along the road often, and having learnt to parallel park here (like many of us)! Please use stealth mode as this is a busy parking lot.
Jerusalem is some distance to your left…
Take your time though, and take a seat. Enjoy a few moments of peace near one of PE’s major thoroughfares.
