The festive atmosphere usually associated with Christmas has waned in the streets of Syria’s cities as main churches opt for limited celebrations, focusing on prayers in solidarity with Palestinians enduring the conflict in Gaza.
“In Palestine, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, people are suffering,” expressed the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Mor Dionysius Antoine Shahda. The central district of Azizia in northern Syria, typically vibrant with a festive market and Christmas decorations, now sees an almost empty main square and a noticeable absence of holiday adornments.
This year, the Syriac Catholic Church, along with leaders of three major churches in Syria — the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchs — decided to cancel Christmas festivities. Instead, they are limiting celebrations to religious ceremonies as an expression of solidarity with the victims of the bombings on Gaza by Israeli forces.