“Our beliefs form our actions, our actions form our traditions, our traditions form our belongings. Only when we know where we belong, do we know who we are.”
On Sunday morning, I got up early and was out of the house at 7:30. The sky was grey, but I saw a beautiful light on the horizon. Though it was expected to rain this day, I reasoned I might still have the time to go up to Mount Davidson to catch some light. On the way there, I started to encounter some surprises. The first one occurred when, while I was climbing the street leading up to the hill, a police car drove by (It is not typical at this hour in our area.) When I reached the foot of the hill, I noticed an unusual number of cars parked on the street. Then I saw parents with little children coming down the hill and some were going in the opposite direction. I also met some people who were coming down holding paper cups with Starbucks logos. I do not drink coffee, but the thought crossed my mind – where in the heck did they get it? And only when I finally reached the top and saw a big crowd, it dawned on me. Today was Easter and all those people came to the Cross.
The surprises kept on coming. There were cars and a TV KRON 4 News station van at the top of the hill. How did they get there? There was a table with some food, water, and of course—Starbucks coffee.
It turned out that it has been a long standing tradition to greet Easter by the tallest Cross (103 ft) in California, at the site which belongs to the Armenian Church. People gather there to express their adherence to a tradition, followed by their faith that Jesus Christ came resurrected on the third day after his crucifixion, almost 2000 years ago. What has changed from that time long ago, on Sunday, the crowd used their cell phones to photograph the Cross, or to take selfies with the incredible city view behind them. Additionally, the correspondent from the TV station used his cell phone to read his script.
Members of the Armenian community, on whose land the crowd had gathered on, were offering refreshments, water, and freshly baked Armenian bread. Another sign of faith, I saw only a few umbrellas.
When I came down and was only a few blocks from our house, the rain started. It was 8:30am and I hoped that by that time, the crowd was down the hill as well. I felt sorry for those who were planning an Easter egg hunt, but in the afternoon the sun came out again. At the end, we all were blessed by the rain and a beautiful day to enjoy family and friends.
P.S.
It was a great opportunity for me to be at the top of Mount Davidson, and to take some images for your enjoyment. Share it with a friend.
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