Easter Sunday (March 23, 2008) in Jerusalem

Hi,

I just realized that Easter Sunday starts earlier this year, March 23. And on March 23, I will do border crossing from Amman to Jerusalem, since my bus departs at 6:30am in Amman so I should be in Jerusalem before noon so what do I expect for Easter Sunday in Jerusalem, any interesting events and something I should be aware of?

Thanks!

Easter is not a holiday in Israel. The Christians in Jerusalem are mostly members of Orthodox churches who celebrate Easter on a different date.
However, March 23 is Purim in Jerusalem! You will see lots of people - children mostly - in fancy dress. More about Purim: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim
There will be parades and street theatre. Note Purim doesn't count as a religious holiday in the sense of there not being public transport etc. Buses run as normal.

I neglected to mention that while Purim is indeed on March 23 in Jerusalem, most of the rest of Israel celebrates this carnival holiday on March 21. This forum isn't the place for long explanations as to why Jerusalem (and other walled cities) celebrate Purim on a different date. Because of a quirk in the Jewish calendar this year, with Shabbat falling in the middle, the "next-day" Purim of ancient walled cities is postponed to Sunday.
So if you are anywhere else in Israel on the night of Thursday March 20, and Friday March 21, you can expect to see lots of people in fancy dress, generally acting silly.

Thanks for the info.