Ho Ho Ho! Christmas in Nazareth

December 24, 2008 - 12:15 PM by

I think it was only appropriate that my first trip to Nazareth be during the holiday season. This year, ISRAEL21c decided to cover Christmas in the Holy Land. Nazareth is known as Jesus’ childhood home and today it has the largest community of Christians in the country. Visiting the city just days before Christmas was the perfect place to see how the holiday is celebrated among Christians in Israel.

Traveling through the main streets of the city (you have plenty of time to look around since there are endless traffic jams), you’ll find tons of Christmas decoration shops, with Christmas trees, lights, Santa Clauses and even a red cowboy Christmas hat. I was actually surprised at how much these shops looked identical to those in America.
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That’s the modern side of things, over in the Old City there are the Christian historical sites and lots of Churches. It was amazing to walk through the churches and learn about Nazareth’s history. A Nazareth resident, who has belonged to his church for over 80 years, told me that he sees thousands of Christian pilgrimages come through Nazareth each year.

From the old city to the new city, we ventured over to a restaurant owned by a Nazareth Christian resident, Mary Abu Jaber, who told us that she never planned on owning a restaurant but wanted to show the Nazareth community the true potential of the city. Her restaurant, “Coincidence,” is featured in the video and was one of the most beautiful restaurants I have been to in Israel. She used an old structure of an abandoned building, to create the main dining area and also built an art gallery. In fact she told us that they’re currently building a book shop to add to the facility. If you are ever in Nazareth I highly recommend checking it out.

My first trip to Nazareth was an awesome experience and I got to capture that feeling in this video. Unfortunately being there before Christmas, I wasn’t able to see their huge parade which is held in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, but then again there is always next year.

Tags: , , , , • Category: coexistence, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Religion, Travel 

Comments

4 Comments on Ho Ho Ho! Christmas in Nazareth

  1. Tony on Wed, Dec 24th 2008 2:01 PM

    2. Thank you guys, keep up the good work on the blog!
    Just one thing to correct in this article: You mentioned Nazareth as “the birthplace of Jesus” which is not entirely true, surely it’s Bethlehem.
    Best wishes, Merry xmas and Hag Hanuka sameah!

  2. Israelis and Palestinians Hoping For A Silent Night In Nazareth on Wed, Dec 24th 2008 6:57 PM

    3. [...] take on the Christmas traditions in Nazareth, above is a video, prepared by my friend Molly, for Israelity. She was in Nazareth earlier this week and used the song “Winter Wonderland” in Arabic [...]

  3. Molly on Thu, Dec 25th 2008 9:00 PM

    4. My bad, Tony. I actually realized that and wanted to fix it, but you beat me to it. Reassured I have corrected my mistake and hope Jesus is not offended on his birthday!

    Thanks!

  4. Nick Khoury on Wed, Dec 15th 2010 1:19 AM

    5. As an American citizen who was born and raised in Nazareth, the thought of Christmas in Nazareth is one that I will always cherish and hold dear. I have many fond memories of Christmas in one of the holiest Christian cities in the world, but one that is more special than all, is the Christmas parade and procession that I attended as a child with family and friends. Merry Christmas to all….

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