Today is the first day of Holy Week. Holy Week is a very, very important week for Christians all over the world. Holy Week is as important as Christmas--maybe more important. But it's a very solemn time--not a party time like the Christmas season.
According to my internet research, 1% of Japanese people are Christian. Sometimes it's lonely having so few people to share such an important part of my life with. So I'm happy to be in Nagasaki for Holy Week. Nagasaki feels like a Christian city. There are many churches. I can see crosses (十字架) here and there. I feel quite at home (心休まる、落ち着く）here.
I don't usually talk about my Christian faith much, even though it is the foundation (土台) that I build my life on. But this week, I will. It's such an important week. For Christians, this week changes the meaning of life.
Here are some of the scenes I saw recently that warmed my soul.
Urakami Cathedral
Do you know the song ”長崎の鐘”? That song is talking about the bell from this church.
And here is a beautiful Japanese garden with a statue of Mary (マリア様).
And here are 2 scenes from the street. One is a bridge decorated with crosses (十字架). The other are graves (お墓) in a cemetery (墓地) marked with crosses.
I will finish with a link that tells what Holy Week is, in Japanese.
daredemohero.com