Christmas celebrated from Lebanon’s border towns to Gaza despite hardship

Report by Rita Khoury, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Amid the festive season, Lebanon welcomed its expatriates for Christmas, with dabke dancing, music, and joyful gatherings. Happiness often mingled with tears as families reunited after long separations.

Children surprised their parents with gifts, while others embraced their mothers, sharing moments of warmth and love during the holiday. Families celebrated both at home and in the streets, where presents were distributed to children.

In the south, many towns captured scenes of Christmas joy despite past hardships. In Khiam, a border town, life returned on Christmas morning as locals attended mass, choosing to return to their village and pray despite extensive war damage and previous displacement caused by Israeli attacks.

In Derdghaiya in the Tyre District, a Christmas mass was held in an intact building next to a destroyed church. Scouts from the Islamic Risala Scout Association joined residents in celebrating the holiday. 

Similar scenes unfolded in the city of Tyre and other border towns, reflecting hope for an end to suffering in the south.

Children in the south had previously been deprived of full holiday celebrations, reminiscent of the faithful in Bethlehem, who celebrated Christmas with renewed hymns after two years of disruption due to the Gaza war.

Gaza residents also reclaimed part of the religious and humanitarian symbolism of Christmas, holding mass despite damage from Israeli military operations.

In Syria, many cities welcomed the child Jesus with hymns and masses, particularly in Old Damascus, Aleppo, and Qamishli, though heightened security measures remained around entrances and churches.

Far from conflicts, in Berlin, Germany, locals maintained a 40-year tradition of taking a dip in a cold lake on Christmas morning.

At the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump, instead of sharing holiday cheer, launched attacks on his Democratic opponents, calling them "radical left scum." At the same time, from his Florida resort, he connected with First Lady Melania and children via phone calls.