Last week we were very kindly invited to attend a Henna party. It was our first invite to something celebratory like this and we couldn’t deny it; we were very excited. Completely aware that we would be underdressed, we walked with Najah into the venue, music from inside booming for miles around.
When inside I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful dresses and more specifically, the varying styles of dresses worn by young children, to young mothers and the older generation. The glitter and party dresses were not something I was expecting. Neither was the almost four hour danceathon that we unknowingly walked into.
When we were sat down in our seats (the bride was on her second outfit change) I noticed two young girls dancing. They were wearing Palestinian dresses. I didn’t think anyone was but I was very happy to see the familiar stitching and gentle sway of the black dress.
Palestinian embroidery has a very long history. It is a traditional craft practiced by village women. They meet after completing housework to talk and embroidery dresses. Each village has its own design and it is possible to know where a woman comes from by looking at her dress. Each area has a different style of embroidery such as butterfly, palm and canaan star. The embroidery styles are passed on from mother to daughter. Dresses are used at different times of life. For example, there are different dresses for the young wife, for the pregnant woman and for the older women. The dresses are covered in embroidery and use many different colours. The colours too mean different things. Green is for growth. Yellow stands for harvest. In the recent years Palestinians have strengthened their culture and tradition. Never embroidery workshop have opened they kept the traditional designs but have introduced more styles and designs such as scarves bags, accessories, and add it to the house furniture. It is a beautiful part of the Palestinian tradition and helps others to recognise the culture.
There are great things about change and progress. Likewise tradition is pretty great too. It was lovely to see the two merging at this party.
