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Our story
Gifts of the Holy Land brings the handwork of Christian artisan families in Bethlehem and Jerusalem to homes, churches and families everywhere.
We began with a simple hope: that people of faith who may never walk the streets of Bethlehem could still hold a piece of the Holy Land in their hands.
A nativity carved a short walk from where Christ was born. A cross shaped from the olive trees that cover these hills. An icon painted slowly and prayerfully, layer by layer. These are not souvenirs. They are made to be kept, used in prayer, set out each Christmas and one day handed down.
We also began because the people who make them matter to us. The Christian community of the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world, and its craftsmen and women have kept these traditions alive through hard times. When you bring their work into your home, you share in their story and help it continue.
Our mission
We want every piece we send out to be worthy of the place it comes from and the person who receives it. That means working closely with the families who make our pieces, describing each one honestly, packing it with care, and standing behind it if anything goes wrong.
When you write to us, a real person reads your message and replies within one business day.
The artisans and their craft
Bethlehem’s carvers begin with branches pruned from the olive groves around the town. The wood is dried slowly, then roughed out with saws and shaped with chisels and knives. The finest details, a shepherd’s staff or the folds of Mary’s mantle, are carved by hand, sanded smooth and finished with natural beeswax.
Our icon painters work in the Byzantine tradition, building each image in thin layers of pigment on a prepared wooden panel, often with gold leaf. It is quiet, patient work, approached with prayer, and a single icon can take many days to complete.
Our painters work from the places they know and love: the Old City of Jerusalem at first light, the stillness of the Sea of Galilee, the star over Bethlehem. Some works are one-of-a-kind originals; others are fine-art prints made from them.
Our crosses, pendants and rosaries are made in small workshops in sterling silver, olive wood and mother-of-pearl, a material Bethlehem’s craftsmen have worked for generations. Each is made to be worn every day, close to the heart.
From grove to gift
Olive wood comes only from branches pruned to keep the trees healthy. No tree is ever cut down.
Each piece is carved, painted or set by an artisan in Bethlehem or Jerusalem, so no two are exactly alike.
We look over every piece before it is packed, so what reaches you is something we are proud to send.
It arrives in a gift box with a certificate of origin, ready to give or to keep.
What we hold to
We treat these pieces with the reverence they deserve, because for many families they become part of prayer and tradition.
We describe every piece plainly and accurately. No inflated claims, no false urgency, no invented reviews.
We use only pruned olive wood and package our pieces to last, so that nothing beautiful is wasted.
Thirty-day returns, help from a real person, and a quick fix if anything arrives damaged.
Nativities, crosses, icons, paintings and jewelry, each one made by hand in the Holy Land.
A welcome gift
Join our letter from Bethlehem. Your 10% welcome code arrives by email or text once your details are confirmed.
