Hamas chose to attack Israel on October 7, carrying out an unprecedented massacre directed at civilians. Now, two and a half months later, Christian minorities in the Middle East have been affected by the Hamas attack, as Christmas festivities are toned down or canceled in Bethlehem, Syria, and other places.
While this is ostensibly in solidarity with suffering in Gaza, it is unclear where the pressure came from to coordinate this cancellation.
According to CNN, “local leaders [in Bethlehem] made the decision last month to scale back festivities in solidarity with the Palestinian population, as heavy fighting raged between Israel and Hamas in the devastated Gaza Strip.”
The report notes that “decorations that once adorned neighborhoods have been removed. The parades and religious celebrations have been canceled. In the city center, Manger Square's traditional enormous Christmas tree is conspicuously absent.”
Where is the holiday cheer?
Arab News also reported that in Syria, “Christmas cheer has deserted the streets of Syria’s cities, where the main churches have limited celebrations to prayers in solidarity with Palestinians suffering war in Gaza.” According to the report in Aleppo, an annual Christian market is now empty.
“This year, the main square is almost empty, and no Christmas decorations are in sight.” Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Mor Dionysius Antoine Shahda, told the AFP that “in Syria, we canceled all official celebrations and receptions in our churches in solidarity with the victims of the bombing on Gaza.”
It should be noted not all Christians in the Middle East celebrate Christmas on the same day. Christmas is celebrated in early January by Orthodox and Armenian Christians.
According to the report, the canceling of Christmas festivities is also being done by other churches, the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholics. The local Patriarchs of the churches said that “given the current circumstances, especially in Gaza, the patriarchs apologize for not receiving Christmas and New Year greetings,” according to the report.
The same report in Damascus says there is only one Christmas market, and the Greek Orthodox Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus “has put up modest decorations and a small tree in its courtyard.”
Is Christmas cancelled?
The decision to cancel Christmas or pressure Christians to tone down celebrations is not universal across the region. In Turkey, various media spotlighted how Christmas would be festive this year.
The Daily Sabah wrote that Turkey is a “wonder place to be for the holiday season.” Hurriyet said, "Istanbul clinched the second position among Europe's most brilliantly illuminated Christmas cities in the month of December, according to research conducted by a U.K.-based company that focused on the utilization of outdoor artificial lights during nighttime.” In the Gulf, there are plenty of signs of Christmas as well. Articles about Dubai, for instance, emphasize how malls and other areas have decorations up for the holiday.
Lebanon is also celebrating Christmas. There are plenty of decorations up in Beirut, according to reports. In southern Lebanon, Christians have been affected by the ongoing Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
As with the Hamas attacks, causing Christmas to be canceled in Bethlehem and parts of Syria, due to Israel defending itself, Iranian-backed Hezbollah has also harmed Christians in southern Lebanon. There will be subdued Christian festivities in southern Lebanon.
It also appears Christmas is going ahead as usual in Iran, even as Iran backed the Hamas and Hezbollah attacks that harmed Christmas in Bethlehem, southern Lebanon, and Syria. A report described Christmas cheer and shopping on Mirzaye Shirazi Street in northern Tehran.
In Erbil in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, Christmas is also going ahead as expected. Kurdistan24 noted that “the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil has officially inaugurated the Christmas Festival, which hosts various food brands, concerts, and dances.
The Erbil International Fair (EIF) officially inaugurated the festival on Tuesday night in the presence of the Erbil governor and head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Board of Investment.”
However, the Chaldean Patriarchate also put out a notice canceling many events linked to Christmas. This was not solely linked to the Gaza war.
Instead, the announcement was due to the Iraqi central government's removal of Patriarch Raphael Louis Sako from his role as patriarch. Sako relocated to Erbil. The celebrations were also canceled due to a massive fire at a wedding in Bakhdida (Hamdaniya) this year, where most victims were Christian.
“In addition, the statement cited the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Holy Land, currently resulting in the deaths of over 19,000 people on both sides, as another reason for the cancellations,” Kurdistan24 said.
“There will be no Christmas and New Year celebrations except for prayers for peace and stability in Iraq, the Holy Land, and the region. We apologize that we will not receive any congratulations from government officials during these holidays," the Patriarch read. According to the report, Christmas was also canceled in Iraq in 2014 during the ISIS war and in 2019.
Christmas events have also been hijacked in the West to try to tie them to Gaza. A Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting in New York was disrupted by activists seeking to “flood” the tree lighting. The term “flood” is taken from the Hamas name for its attack on Israel and massacre of civilians.