THE OLIVE TREE IN MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS
Olive oil introduces infants into the Christian community during baptism, just as it blesses the sick during their last rites. In the Islamic tradition, the olive tree is the tree par excellence, the central axis that moves the world. The olive tree is the blessed plant, associated with light, and olive oil feeds the lamps that illuminate the most sacred spaces such as mosques. The olive tree is represented both in the Koran and in the Hadith where the Prophet says: “Feed yourselves with olive oil and anoint your skin because this tree is a blessed tree”. In the Jewish religion the olive tree represents justice and wisdom.
UNESCO AND THE OLIVE TREE
Since 2019, on November 26th, the Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization https://es.unesco.org ) celebrates the “World Olive Tree Day”. This initiative was jointly presented by Lebanon and Tunisia and approved with a unanimous motion by the Unesco. The aim is to protect the olive tree and promote the values of peace, wisdom, and harmony that this plant symbolizes.
UNESCO AND THE OLIVE TREE
Since 2019, on November 26th, the Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization https://es.unesco.org ) celebrates the “World Olive Tree Day”. This initiative was jointly presented by Lebanon and Tunisia and approved with a unanimous motion by the Unesco. The aim is to protect the olive tree and promote the values of peace, wisdom, and harmony that this plant symbolizes.
THE INTERNATIONAL OLIVE COUNCIL AND WORLD OLIVE TREE DAY
The International Olive Council (COI https://www.internationaloliveoil.org), the only intergovernmental organization in the world dedicated to olive oil and table olives, celebrates on November 26th of each year the World Olive Day with events that take place in all member countries. The olive tree, universal symbol of peace and harmony, widespread in the five continents, contributes to economic and social development, as well as to the conservation of natural resources by protecting the territory from erosion, desertification, and thus protecting from the threat of global warming.
