Christmas In Syria, Christians Get Gifts When Entering Church

One of the churches in Syria in 2023. (Ali Wassouf-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Christians in the Syrian capital, Damascus, celebrated Christmas by praying at the church on Tuesday evening, December 24 local time.

The Greek Melkite Catholic Church in the old city of Damascus is filled with congregants at night, with the congregation receiving gifts at the entrance to the church.

The church choir walked around the church grounds singing praise. The scout from the church rang the bell to mark the start of mass.

In his speech, Greek Melkit Catholic Patriarch Youssef Absi prayed for the restoration of "peace, unity, coexistence, and dialogue" in Syria, stressing that cooperation will make it easier to achieve.

"Just as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, it will be the birth of new Syria. Hopefully there will be a new birth, a new life after the fall of this regime."

"We expect security and stability again," said Jalwal Abu Jeraf, a member of the church scout, to Anadolu, by Antara.

"We hope that the new government prepares a constitution that includes all elements in Syria and provides security and stability," Jeraf added.

He hopes that "the new government will take Syria to a much better place than ever before."

Affaf Aqqa, who took part in the Christmas service, said that Christmas means "light, hope, the beginning of a new life, the birth of peace and sincerity."

"We hope that what happened in the past will remain the past. We don't want revenge. Let's all live together in peace."

Towards the end of mass, a group of members of security forces from the new Syrian government visited the church as part of Christmas celebrations.