Occupied Jerusalem – As the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip has been raging for two and a half months, Jerusalemite Geida Khmishta gravitates towards her television screen, around the clock, keeping up with the latest developments. She resists the idea of preparing for the joyous Christmas festivities that she used to eagerly anticipate every year.
This Jerusalemite lady has not erected nor adorned a Christmas tree in her home this year, although she describes it as one of the most joyous customs and rituals of the holiday. This is particularly significant as Christians around the world, especially Palestinian Christians, look forward to celebrating the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and participating in the prayers.
However, this year's celebrations have dulled and preparations are no longer visible. Khmishta recalls that Bethlehem's Manger Square has never been devoid of a Christmas tree and holiday adornments, neither does she remember a time when the movement of Christian pilgrims has ceased during this festive season in the Holy Land.
Khmishta says, "Our country is saddened during this year's commemoration of Christ's birth, and our people are facing massacres. How can anyone continue with customary rituals? My only wish is for peace to be realized so we can live in freedom and safety like other nations, and for our children to enjoy tranquility and security."
As Geida Khmishta focuses her attention on events in Gaza, she sees no joy in the holiday amidst the massacres by the occupation. (Al Jazeera)
Celebratory Rituals Called Off
Like Khmishta, Christians in Jerusalem, and particularly in the Old City, will not wake up to the sounds of the Scout parades on the morning of December 24th, which are traditionally organized just before the patriarchal procession leaving the Latin Patriarchate heads to Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity for the Christmas Mass.
For Christmas, Scout troops in Jerusalem typically conduct two main parades, the first coincides with the lighting of the Christmas tree inside the Old City near the "New Gate," while the other is organized on the morning of December 24th each year.
Elias Habash, leader of the Arab Catholic Scouts group, told Al Jazeera Net that this Scout troop, which includes 250 members ranging from children to adults, has not received its usual Christmas celebration training for the first time in many years.
"This time of year, we would be under immense pressure, training daily for long hours, but all of that has disappeared this year and our pain comes not from the absence of these activities, but from the country's situation that has entirely changed everything," Habash added.
He confirmed that the Arab Catholic Scouts, headquartered in Jerusalem's Old City, continue their Scouting and volunteer activities but have ceased all parade and entertainment activities since October 7th.
Celebrations of Christmas will be absent from the Old City of Jerusalem as in previous years. (Al Jazeera)
Will the War Be Buried?
Not only has the vibrant sound of Scout drills quieted down in Jerusalem, but also the joyous Christmas carols usually echoing from the balconies of Christian homes. Now, they've been limited to a single hymn: "On Christmas night, hate shall vanish… On Christmas night, the earth shall bloom… On Christmas night, war shall be buried… On Christmas night, love shall grow."
Nevertheless, the war has not been buried yet, and its noise overshadows all other sounds for weeks, which is why this year's celebration, according to former head of the Arab Episcopal Church's Jerusalem-based council Bishop Suhail Dawani, is limited to religious rituals only.
In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, Dawani emphasized that this year's prayer will be for all those who are suffering, those facing death and violence, stressing that the message of Christmas is always one of love and peace, and believers will be singing and reflecting on this message in churches.
Yousef Daher, coordinator of the World Council of Churches office in Jerusalem, also stated to Al Jazeera Net that nearly 9,000 Christians in Jerusalem, half of whom reside in the Old City, have not delighted in the Christmas festivities amid the country's prevailing gloominess.
And, just as these individuals did not celebrate, tourists did not flock to the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem to revel in the joyous spirit and the spirituality that pervades the Christmas Eve Mass, according to Daher.
Daher: Nearly 9,000 Christians in Jerusalem are not experiencing the joy of Christmas. (Al Jazeera)
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is the destination for Palestinian Christians during this season; they head there before, during, and after the holiday. However, this year, like the rest of the West Bank cities since the war erupted, all entry points to the city have been shut except for one, requiring Palestinians to spend lengthy hours trying to get through.
The "Justice and Peace Committee" of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land issued its Christmas statement saying, "We, Christians, feel our solidarity with all who suffer in the war. Christmas remained a day of prayer for the tortured, and a time to contemplate the deeper meaning of the festival."
The statement continued, "This year, we walk toward the grotto (in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem) to pray and seek the joy promised by God. We are a people of hope who have placed our trust in God and in the birth of the Prince of Peace. We are certain that we are never alone and know that God has chosen our land to dispel our darkness."
In conclusion, the Christmas message calls on all those celebrating Christmas worldwide to pray alongside them. "Pray for peace in Bethlehem and Gaza and across the Holy Land. Let us pray together for an end to violence, for the liberation of all captives, and for a permanent ceasefire."
As the curtain falls on this year's Christmas celebrations in about two weeks, Christians wonder whether it will also bring an end to the ongoing war on Gaza and the violations that Christians, including clergy, face in Jerusalem at the hands of settlers.
