Christmas celebrations ‘restoring hope’ after 2 years of muted celebrations in Israel

JERUSALEM—With bagpipes and drums, scouts from the various churches paraded through a narrow alley in the Old City’s Christian Quarter while a crush of celebrants gathered in the chilled Jerusalem evening, singing Christmas carols to kick off the holiday season – a boisterous yet refreshing celebration for local Christians after two years of muted festivities.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, most public celebrations of Christmas were paused – and some altogether canceled – as the war continued in Gaza, where before some 1,000 Christians lived among the enclave’s two million Muslims.

Now with the war between Israel and Hamas waning since Oct. 9, festivities have returned in full for the first time since 2022 – with tree lighting ceremonies, Christmas markets and concerts.

Despite the celebrations, however, the return to routine is bittersweet.

“On one hand, it is good to see Jerusalem coming back to the way it was before. It’s nice to see festive things around us, and we are actually participating in everything because we miss it,” Niveen Kandalaft, a Christian from Jerusalem, told ALL ISRAEL NEWS at the tree lighting ceremony at New Gate earlier this month. “On the other hand, the war is not ending.”

The patriarchs and heads of churches noted in a statement on Monday that the recent ceasefire “has allowed many of our communities to more publicly celebrate the joys of Christmas.” However, the church leaders quoted Jeremiah 6:14, warning of those who say, “‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”

“For we are fully aware that, despite a declared cessation of hostilities, hundreds have continued to be killed or suffer grievous injury,” they said. “Many more have experienced violent assaults against themselves, their properties, and their freedoms – not only in the Holy Land, but also in neighboring countries.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa – the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land – paid a visit this weekend to the beleaguered Christian community in Gaza to lead a Christmas mass.

“I know the situation is difficult, but I see with the children, the school, the activities, a little light of hope,” Pizzaballa told congregants. “You have been a wonderful testimony, not only of resilience, but of faith and hope for many people – not just in Gaza, but many other parts of the world.”

The Holy Family church in Gaza was hit by an Israeli shell in July, killing three people. Israel said it struck the church by accident and apologized.

“We cannot forget what happened. And we will never forget. But now we have to look forward,” Pizzaballa urged. “We need to cure, to heal our hearts.”

Indeed, local Christians are adopting a proactive stance for the holidays this year in hopes of better days. Caritas Jerusalem, a Catholic aid organization, launched a campaign called Christmas of Hope, "to restore joy, dignity and spiritual renewal to communities that have endured two years of war, loss and uncertainty,” the group said on its website.

The tree lighting in Bethlehem’s Manger Square also brought with it a glimmer of hope for a faltering Palestinian economy, essentially shut down after Oct. 7 halted tourism to the West Bank almost entirely.

Mihran Krikorian, who owns Rewined Restaurant in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, said that after two quiet years, they weren’t sure what to expect.

“The spirit is here, the amount of people is just amazing and this is just the beginning,” he said last week. “We are overwhelmed. I feel like people want holidays, people want to enjoy, people want to live. They don’t want wars. You can see it in the faces of everyone. If you look all around, everyone is happy.”

Someone who never ceased to observe Christmas, even during the war, was Jerusalem’s own Santa – a local Christian who transforms his Old City home into the North Pole every Christmas and attracts thousands of visitors.

Issa Kassissieh continued to receive guests in 2023 and 2024 because, he said, children needed hope and joy – especially during the stress of the war.

“Everyone wants the light,” he said at his Old City North Pole replica last week. “As the war finishes, everyone wants to enjoy the moment because they don’t know what’s going to be the next day.”

This year, Kassissieh has been swamped with visitors from around the country – even Jews – standing in line for a chance to meet Santa and get some holiday cheer.

Christians comprise just 2% of Israel's population and 1% of the Palestinian population. Many locally born Christians trace their presence in the region back generations, including Kassissieh.

Kandalaft said that showing restraint in the past two Christmases was complicated for the Christian population, but a necessary step in showing solidarity with those who were suffering.

“You couldn’t really celebrate like you were supposed to celebrate. This is Jerusalem, this is Bethlehem – Jesus was born here, so it was really very, very sad,” she said.

However, Christians “always have hope for the future,” Kandalaft said. “We’re supposed to live in peace, in harmony. Everything should be as it's supposed to be and hopefully we see that.”

Sami El-Yousef, CEO of the Latin Patriarchate, also observed the stark difference this Christmas.

“The spirit is certainly back. We see small groups of pilgrims returning to show their solidarity and experience the charm of the Holy places and strengthen their own faith. The economic wheel on the West Bank is starting to move again,” he wrote.

“While everyone feels it will be a long and difficult road, there is hope that the Christmas season will bring its own magic to our suffering people. Our prayers continue that the wheel that started turning will lead to real peace that is much needed for all people living in this Holy Land and genuinely call it home, whether Moslem, Jewish or Christian.”

In Jerusalem, Christmas is observed on Dec. 25 by Catholics and Protestants, on Jan. 7 by Orthodox Christians, and – only in Jerusalem – on Jan. 19 by the Armenian Orthodox Church.