Jerusalem’s Christmas dimmed by war, but some Christians see a glimmer of hope
As conflict persists and tourist influx remains limited, public celebrations in the Old City are canceled for the second year in a row, but some refuse to give in to despair
Gianluca Pacchiani is the Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
Like last year, the Christmas market by the New Gate of the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem was canceled amid the ongoing war.
A cobbled street that would normally dazzle with cheerful decorations and resound with Christmas songs now lies quiet. Typically bustling with tourists speaking a babel of languages and exploring stalls selling mulled wine, roasted corn and reindeer antler headbands, the empty hundred-meter strip now sees only a few local residents and clergymen passing by.
A group of Russian-Israeli visitors, hoping for a festive atmosphere, queue outside Santa’s house – one of the Christian Quarter’s attractions – only to find it the lone corner of the Old City evoking Christmas spirit.
While parts of Jerusalem outside the Old City walls have preserved their traditions, like the historic YMCA on King David Street, which displays a majestic Christmas tree and held a five-day Christmas market earlier in the month, the atmosphere inside the ancient walls remains subdued.
Only a handful of shops offer seasonal decorations, such as Santa hats and inflatable reindeer.
Walking through the alleys of the Old City, shopkeepers openly share their struggles to keep their once-thriving businesses afloat. Souvenir vendors call out to foreign-looking passersby, attempting to entice customers.
Even the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial according to various Christian traditions, is eerily empty – a stark contrast to the usual throngs of pilgrims.
After more than 14 months of war, hopelessness lingers among many residents.
“The atmosphere is no better than last year,” said Hanna, a local Palestinian Christian who declined to provide his last name. “It is still sad. The war has not ended, and all those who have died in Gaza will not return. Only the Messiah has returned from the dead,” he added. “What we need is not only an end to this war but a solution to the Palestinian question.”
Hanna also spoke of economic struggles. “The tourists have not returned,” he said, explaining that his plan to convert an empty space into a café in a popular tourist street has been stalled after October 7, 2023, when the Hamas invasion of southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostages, sparking the war. He has recently resumed renovations, hoping to open early next year.
Other Christian residents aim to preserve holiday traditions within their communities, drawing hope from recent developments such as the ceasefire reached with Hezbollah in Lebanon in late November that the end to the war may be approaching.
Elias Muscoby, an Arab Christian working at a café adjacent to an Anglican church, expressed a desire to maintain the holiday spirit despite the challenges. In a corner, the café showcases a decorated Christmas tree.
“This year, with the war still ongoing, we are still sad, but we also want the kids to understand the joy of Christmas,” Muscoby said.
“We keep praying and have hope that things will return to normal. People are coming to Jerusalem because it has a different atmosphere from the rest of the country. We put up lights and a Christmas tree for people to take a break from the situation we’ve been living in for over a year,” he said.
“We are also not forgetting the hostages, and we hope that next year they will celebrate together with us,” he added.
The adjacent house of prayer is the Christ Church, the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East, consecrated in 1849. Its multicultural congregation includes local Arabs, international expats and Messianic Jews with services conducted in Arabic, English and Hebrew.
The community has strong ties to the State of Israel. Some of its long-term missionaries and their children have acquired Israeli citizenship, such as US native Scott Morgan, deputy director of CMJ Israel (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people), the umbrella organization under which the congregation operates. Over 30 members of the congregation were called up as IDF reservists during the war, including Morgan’s own son.
“The situation is not as heavy as Christmas a year ago, which fell two and a half months from October 7,” Morgan said.
“I think there’s more optimism this year, but we want to remember that we’re coming up on 444 days of the hostages being captive. As an American-Israeli, that number is hard to think about, as it coincides with the 444 days of the American hostages in Iran during the Islamic Revolution,” he said, recalling the 53 US citizens taken captive in Tehran after the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Morgan said that the congregation on Christmas Eve expected 4,000 attendees and would maintain its traditional program, which included carols, a midnight mass, and serving mulled wine and cookies.
Some Christians in the city drew inspiration from the overlap of Christmas and the first day of the Hanukkah festival, taking it as a sign of hope for the future.
“Hanukkah celebrates the victory of light over darkness,” said Father Francesco Voltaggio, an Italian Catholic priest at the Domus Bethaniae Monastery near the Mount of Olives, who has lived in Israel for the past 22 years and is fluent in both Hebrew and Arabic.
“For us Christians, that divine light came through Jesus. Both are manifestations of God’s love for humanity. Even now during this war, when that light feels dimmed, faith reminds us that God is guiding history and his people,” he said.
Speaking about relations between different religious communities in the Holy City, Father Voltaggio emphasized the role of Christians in promoting reconciliation.
“The message in the Torah and the teachings of Jesus is the same: ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ We should never see the other as an enemy to erase,” he said.
“As Christians, we hope to be a bridge for peace. If we fail to live up to that role, we fail as Christians.”
