In solidarity with Gaza, Syrians cancel Christmas festivities

Damascus: The largest churches in Syria have limited their Christmas celebrations to prayers in solidarity with the Palestinians who are suffering from the war in Gaza, leaving the streets bereft of festive cheer.

“In Palestine, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, people are suffering,” the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Mor Dionysius Antoine Shahda said.

The streets of Azizia, the centre district of the northern Syrian city, are regularly decked out with lights and trinkets, and the area is home to a thriving festive market and a large Christmas tree.

However, there are no Christmas decorations to be seen, and the main square is nearly empty this year, AFP reported.

“In Syria, we cancelled all official celebrations and receptions in our churches in solidarity with the victims of the bombing on Gaza” by Israeli forces, Shahda said.

The Syriac Catholic Church was not alone in this decision. The leaders of three of Syria's major churches, the Greek Orthodox, the Syriac Orthodox, and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, announced that they were cancelling Christmas celebrations and restricting them to religious services. 

“Given the current circumstances, especially in Gaza, the patriarchs apologize for not receiving Christmas and New Year greetings,” the trio said in a joint statement, adding they were limiting ceremonies to “prayers.”

More than 20,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its massive air and ground offensive on October 7, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory. The offensive was in response to an attack on southern Israel.

According to officials, women and children make up the majority of the fatalities in Gaza.

Due to the violence, a large number of Gazans have been forced into cramped shelters or tents where they frequently struggle to acquire food, fuel, water, and medical attention.

According to the UN organisation for Palestinian refugees, there isn't a single safe place remaining in the small area due to the continuing Israeli military onslaught.

More than 1.2 million Christians called Syria home before the country's civil war broke out in 2011, but a significant proportion have since fled.

Christmas celebrations had been dampened by the fighting, but in recent years, as the main front lines halted and government forces retook control of huge areas of the nation, the festivities have intensified.

Still, the streets of Damascus, the capital, are now filled with gloom.

The Greek Orthodox Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus has placed modest decorations and a Christmas tree in its courtyard, but the festivities are confined to a single market.

“This year was very sad. It began with the earthquake and ended with the Gaza war,” Damascus resident Rachel Haddad, 66, said, referring to the February 6 tremor that ripped through southern Turkiye and Syria, killing at least 55,000 people.

“There was no opportunity for joy,” she said, also blaming Syria’s economic woes.