Olive Wood Crucifix/Wall Cross Adorned with The Our Father Prayer Hand Crafted by Artisans in Bethlehem.an Ideal Religious Gift for Christmas or Any Other Christian Holiday.

Olive Wood Crucifix / Wall Cross adorned with the "Our Father Prayer" (English Small Version) from Jerusalem Hand Crafted by Artisans in Bethlehem. Olive wood carving is an ancient tradition that has been around since antiquity and continues to the present day. It involves the skillful chiseling of wood and is most common in the Bethlehem region. The process of producing an olive wood craft consists of many stages, often involving the work of multiple artisans. These artisans, most of whom go through six to seven years of training, transform a rough outline into a finished product by hand chiseling the details. The finished item must then be sanded down, polished and coated with olive wax to give it a "natural shine" & ensure its longevity. Depending on the product the entire process can take up to 45 days. Olive wood is used because it is easier to carve than other woods and can be done accurately with simple hand tools. It has a diverse variety of natural color & tonal depth, is resistant to decay and receptive to a number of surfacing treatments. The wood is widely used in the manufacturing of various artistic, religious, and historical works such as crosses, kitchen items, rosary beads, tree ornaments and wall decorations. Most olive wood products are handmade, and matching sets must be made from the same block of wood due to the variations in color and grain. As a result, products made from olive wood are more expensive than similar items made from softer wood. A well-cared for piece of olive wood has a luster and color unmatched by any other wood, making olive wood an investment well worth the money. The wood itself comes from older trees that are unproductive for fruit as well as from the pruning of younger trees. No trees are ever destroyed for the use of their wood. This is due to the fact that Olive Trees are protected by the Holy Land Law as well as by the Holy Bible itself since the ancient times.