43
Holy Land Gifts are handcrafted in the land where Jesus lived
By LINDA M. LINONIS
BOARDMAN
Holy Land Gifts items carry significance beyond the subject matter. The handcrafted articles relate to the reason for Christmas.
Suhair “Sue” Musleh operates Holy Land Gifts, a Fair Trade business. Fair Trade is a partnership that seeks greater equity in international trade.
Originally from Bethlehem in Israel, Musleh and her family immigrated to the United States in 2003; she cited unrest in the Middle East as the reason. Her husband died after a car accident. She has two adult sons and an adult daughter and two grandchildren. She attends Blessed Sacrament Church in Warren.
Musleh has a kiosk at Southern Park Mall that is open during mall hours through Christmas Eve. This weekend, items will be sold at St. Columba Cathedral, 159 W. Rayen Ave., after Masses at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday. In the new year, Musleh will sell the items at churches in the Youngstown and Cleveland dioceses.
“Everything is hand-carved by Christians in the Holy Land,” Musleh said. “There are some 100 Christian families who make the statues, rosaries, Nativities and crosses.”
She pointed out the handcrafted items aren’t made in a factory; families have workshops at their homes. The settings are simple, minus machinery. “It’s a tradition handed down from generation to generation,” she said of the carving. The more-experienced craftsmen do more-detailed work.
Fair Trade provides for fair market value of the products made by the families, who depend on the sales for their livelihood.
What sets Holy Land Gifts apart from other religious items is the olive wood that is used. On her website, www.giftsofjerusalem.com, Musleh noted that the “olive tree is a blessed tree in the holy book.” She continued that olive trees grew in the Garden of Gethsemane and around Jerusalem before, during and after the time of Jesus.
The trees are pruned every two years to encourage them to bear fruit. The prunings are used by artisans to create the unique wooden items. Then the wood must dry before carving can begin; some intricate carvings take months to complete.
“The darker the wood, the older the tree,” Musleh said, noting some of the carvings are from trees that are some 200 years old. The lighter wood comes from trees at least 10 years old.
Adding to the uniqueness of the material, the crosses also contain soil, small stone and leaves of olive trees along with frankincense. Trendy holiday gifts are no match to this connection to the land where Jesus lived.
The array of hand-carved wooden items is impressive, and the detail is amazing. The pieces are stamped with Jerusalem on the backs.
Musleh said though nativities are popular, the crosses are a best seller around Christmas. For children, figures of angels along with rosaries and necklaces are often chosen as special gifts.
Blocks of olive wood relay such wishes as “God bless our house” and recount The Lord’s Prayer and Ten Commandments.
There are small to large nativities, some using the stable setting. Another Nativity portrays a cavelike setting for the birth of baby Jesus, shaped from the limb of an olive tree. There also are cradles with baby Jesus and portraits of the Holy Family.
Another piece is the visual interpretation of “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” from Matthew 4:19, which shows Jesus in a boat. Other pieces depict Christ carrying the cross.
Musleh also has renditions of the Last Supper, candlesticks, a chalice, holy-water container with faces of Mary and Jesus and small ornaments. Prices range from $11 to $1,000.
For information, call 330-979-5523 or send email to samer.f.musleh@gmail.com.