What are the "Stations of the Cross"?

Hi Peggy!

The stations of the cross are only in the old city of Jeruslem. They are very clearly marked so tourists can walk the same path that Christ did prior to the crucifiction. However today, various rug and teeshirt shop vendors prohibit this walk by jumping in your path and physically dragging you into their lairs.

@peggylou
Disambiguation: The Stations of the Cross as a religious meditation ritual
The Stations of the Cross, aka The Way of the Cross, or Via Crucis (aka Via Dolorosa)

The Stations of the Cross, as a religious ritual, are practiced in the Catholic church, usually during Lent or Holy Week, leading up to Good Friday (the day that commemorates the Crucifixion) and ultimately Easter (or Resurrection) Sunday. The ritual is generally one of meditation, without any song. The leader, usually a priest, walks from one sculpture or picture to another, leading the congregation in prayer and meditation. The stations are as follows:
1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus is given his cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus’ body is removed from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

A good overview from a Catholic point of view can be found here

The Via Dolorosa, or Via Crucis in Jerusalem is supposedly the path Jesus took from the place he where Pontius Pilate sentenced him, to the hill called “Golgotha”, or “The Place of the Skull”. Some modern scholars dispute the authenticity of the route, but the commemorations have been held along the path since before the Middle Ages.