Samaritan Story

One after midnight, I put on my coat and went up to Mount Gerizim in Nablus. Everyone was ready to start the Samaritan Hajj ritual on the mountain.

While I was taking pictures, one of the pilgrims called me, so that I could go with him and his family to the house, and when I asked him why he said, today is Monday for you as Muslims, but for us it is the first day of the Samaritan Throne Day, and on the day of Eid, we as Samaritans consider this day a Saturday, even if it is not, and the reason is the sanctity of this day.

On Saturday, we are prohibited as Samaritans from using anything that has a light, whether it is a phone, a lamp, a refrigerator, so I want you to come with us to the house to light the lamps for us, because if I light them myself I will commit a terrible sin on this blessed day.

I went home with him and lit the lamps, and when I returned to the church where the pilgrims gather before ascending to the top of the mountain, I asked Uncle Hosni the priest about the rest of the lights lit in the area, he told me that we had lit these lamps three days before the Eid so that we could celebrate the Throne Day.

Although the Samaritan religion is based on the Torah, it differs from Judaism

The number of the Samaritan community does not exceed 800 people, most of whom reside in the Samaritan village of Kiryat Loza on Mount Gerizim near the city of Nablus and they consider themselves Palestinians.