By Michele Chabin/National Catholic Register
JERUSALEM — In December 2023, the Advent season in Fassuta, a Melkite Christian village about nine miles from the Lebanese border, was solemn and fraught with danger. While the war raged between Israel and Hamas farther south, rockets fired from Lebanon rained down on the towns and villages in northern Israel.
In light of the war, the Holy Land’s patriarchs and heads of churches jointly instructed their congregations to forgo any public displays of Christmas lights and decorations, along with their associated festivities.
Father Michael Assi, pastor of St. Elias Melkite Catholic Church of Fassuta, took these instructions to heart. He encouraged his parishioners to focus on prayer and quiet gatherings instead of pageantry.
A year later, there is a feeling of cautious hope in the air. The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been more or less holding, and there are rumors that a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel may finally be brokered before Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January.
On Nov. 22, the patriarchs and Church leaders announced that they were reversing last year’s restrictions in order to foster hope, and to enable local Christians to openly practice and enjoy Christmas, as long as their celebrations are modest and acknowledge the continuing suffering of the people of Gaza. War-ravaged Bethlehem will again forgo public celebrations.
“While our intentions [last year] were good,” Church officials said in a joint statement, “many around the world nevertheless misinterpreted this call to signify a ‘cancellation of Christmas’ in the Holy Land — the very place of our Lord’s Holy Nativity. Because of this, ‘our unique witness to the Christmas message of light emerging out of darkness’ (Jn 1:9) was diminished not only around the world, but also among our own people.”
This Advent season and Christmas, the leaders encouraged their faithful “to fully commemorate the approach and arrival of Christ’s birth by giving public signs of Christian hope” but in ways that are “sensitive to the severe afflictions that millions in our region continue to endure.”
For example, local Christians should continually pray for those suffering and in need, reach out to them with deeds of kindness and charity, “and welcome them as Christ himself has welcomed each of us (Rm 15:7). In these ways, we will echo the Christmas story itself, where the angels announced to the shepherds’ glad tidings of Christ’s birth in the midst of similarly dark times in our region (Lk 2:8–20), offering to them and to the entire world a message of divine hope and peace,” the leaders said.
Father Assi was cheered by the statement.
“Unlike last Christmas, this year we were delighted to light the Christmas tree in the presence of a crowd, accompanied by a wonderful performance — as usual — from the village Scouts marching band. This was a refreshing change from last year, when we could only broadcast the event live on Facebook,” due not only to the churches’ recommendations but Israeli restrictions on the number of people who could safely assemble indoors and outdoors in an active war zone.
While the village’s holiday celebrations traditionally include fireworks, Father Assi said, local authorities did not grant permits this year, presumably because it is easy to mistake the noise of fireworks for rocket fire.
Despite the current ceasefire and the gradual return to normalcy, the short notice — both on the military front and the churches’ updated recommendations — made it “challenging” to organize additional events, Father Assi said.
In Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Muslim-Christian city, the municipality has reinstated its bright, colorful annual holiday display that honors all three faiths. In Jerusalem, where Christmas displays are generally confined to the Old City’s historic Christian Quarter and Christian holy sites, festive lights and large candy canes suspended from the air greet children in front of Santa’s House, a local landmark. In the predominantly Jewish western side of the city, the sprawling YMCA lawn has many more Christmas lights this year compared to last year.
The mood is much more subdued in Bethlehem, in the Palestinian-ruled part of the West Bank. The municipality has decided to once again forgo public Christmas celebrations, due to the ongoing suffering in Gaza.
Speaking by phone from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Mayor Anton Salman said Christmas will be celebrated privately and will be focused on prayer. There will be no public Christmas tree, no holiday lights on the streets or in Manger Square, no public holiday concerts or outdoor Christmas market (although the local Peace Center will host an indoor market to enable local artists and craftspeople to sell their goods).
“For us, Bethlehem is part of the Palestinian heritage, and as a result of what’s going on in Gaza, and Israel’s continuous attacks, we Christians will concentrate on Christian prayers and prayers for peace,” Salman said. “Of course, each person can celebrate Christmas in their way. But for the city itself, due to the situation, there will be no festivals or decorations. We want to show the world that Bethlehem and the Palestinian people are still suffering.”
Salman said the lack of pilgrims will make this Christmas particularly difficult for local Christians and Muslims who rely on visitors for their livelihoods.
“We always have hope,” said Salman. “Celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem gives us hope that peace and justice will prevail. We continue to hope.”
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