A few hundred worshipers gathered in and around the Church of the Nativity in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity. But Christmas celebrations are overshadowed for the second year in a row by the war in Gaza. “We didn’t put up a tree, we didn’t decorate the streets. We want to show the world that Palestine still suffers from Israeli occupation and injustice,” explains Anton Salman, mayor of this West Bank city.
The city came alive in the early afternoon with a parade of scouts, some of whom carried signs with messages such as “Our children want to play and laugh” and “Stop the genocide in Gaza now”.
In neighboring Syria, the new hope of Christians
Further north, in Syria, the new authorities dominated by Islamists have worked to reassure Christians in a Sunni-majority country. “It was not easy to come together in the current circumstances and pray with joy, but thanks to God, we did it,” sighs Sarah, who attends mass in the Orthodox cathedral of Saint-Georges, in Damascus.
However, several demonstrations took place in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus to protest against the burning of a Christmas tree in the center of the country. “If we are not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as was the case, then we no longer have our place here,” said one man, who preferred not to give his last name.