Jesus is Palestinian: Christmas in Bethlehem

December 24, 2008 at 11:00 pm · Filed under Seriously

It’s the season for Christmas and Christmas is strong in presence even in communities where Christians account for a very small percentage of the population. I believe that Christmas in Amman is even more apparent in the city’s mood than Muslim festivities. But I guess that’s just natural. Christmas is all about gifts, and that pleases the businesses and so they advertise it. Christmas is friendly and happy, definitely a lot more festive than slaughtered sheep. Christmas comes in packages prepacked from the Western stores that dominate West Amman. And Christmas is fun- Christmas trees, Christmas jingles, and Papa Noels.

Christmas is everywhere. Christmas is beautiful.

But I digress. People are proud of local products, and I think that all Palestinians, regardless of faith, should be proud of Christmas. I’m proud of Christmas. Afterall, it is one of the most influential top three things to happen to the world in its entire history.

And it was made in Palestine. فخر الصناعة الوطنية :)

Anyway, some pictures of Christmas in the little town where Jesus was born, Bethlehem:

Bethlehem_40 by you.

Bethlehem_37 by you.

Bethlehem_32 by you.

Bethlehem_24 by you.

Bethlehem_27 by you.

Bethlehem_9 by you.

Bethlehem_16 by you.

Bethlehem_7 by you.

Bethlehem_6 by you.

Bethlehem_3 by you.

Merry Christmas everyone!
These pictures are taken from the Upi website, and there are more there.






  • http://www.a-tale-of-three-beans.blogspot.com MommaBean

    Thanks for the pictures. May this holiday season be blessed for our country and region. Especially, God’s blessings be on you and your loved ones my dear!

  • Stephen

    I hear what you’re saying about Christmas being beautiful as it raises people’s spirits just like Eid or Deepavali or any other religious or cultural celebration.

    But because Christmas is about presents as you rightly point out, it can also be a lot of superficial commercial shite.

    And hey what about all those slaughtered turkeys

  • A.

    And why are you not visiting Bethlehem this week,Raba? ;)

    >>>> About 250,000 visitors will visit the city this week, up from 65,000 in the same week last year, Mayor Victor Batarseh said in a telephone interview. An estimated 1.25 million tourists are expected to visit Bethlehem by year’s end, representing a 96 percent increase from 2007, according to the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Industry.”All 3,000 rooms in Bethlehem have been booked for Christmas,” said Samir Hazboun, chairman of the chamber.

  • A.

    Btw Jesus was born a Jew ,not a ChrisJesus was born in Bethlehem,Jdea(Yehuda). .Beit Lehem means the house of bread in Hebrew.

    Happy Christmas to all.

  • http://palordinia.blogspot.com Ehab

    Stephen,

    I think Roba is not against the Slaughtering per se. She just wants Muslims to do it in a more stylish way like those who Slaughter Turkeys do! :-)

    But Roba is right! Christmas feels more Festive than Eid because as Stephen said it’s hugely commercialized. I know a lot of people who celebrate Thanksgiving and they are not Americans, because it’s hugely commercialized!! These are actually celebrating the “Slaughtering” of native American!!

    Funny how slaughtering is associated with all these Holidays!! So you just do it in style!! It’ll look goooood :)

    Merry Christmas Everyone

  • Dee

    Excuse me but christmas is not all about presents…thats like saying eid is all about il 3eedieh that u take! i thinks thats offensive because a lot of families do not get to buy their children gifts! but they still put up a tree and decorate the house and celebrate. Christ was born today! thats christmas! we celebrate that and if presents are added ( just like when its your birthday and you get presents ) it doesnt mean that its about gifts! an outsider only sees the presents…and thats too bad!

  • Magic

    Merry Chirstmas ¡¡ Thanks for the pictures ¡¡

  • http://www.quran-miracle.com Zaid

    Dear All,
    I would like to advise you out of love to think about what you are taught, and with regards to christmas If some people take The Bible as their book of authority… then christmas is not the time Jesus was born because it says in The Bible that when Jesus was born the shepherds were out in the field…. and so it could not have been mid winter in palestine (25 December) because the sheep would have suffered so much in the cold and shepherds do not go out in the fields in mid winter.
    So Jesus peace be upon Him was born in mid summer as The Quran indicates that Mary peace be upon Her ate from ribbed dates which can only be found in mid summer.
    So please think about what you are following.
    Zaid

  • http://www.thisisjoe.net Joe

    I agree with dee, it’s not all about the presents… it does have a meaning, and we don’t “slaughter” turkeys, Americans do, it’s a western tradition, and I don’t know if Jordanians do that, but it certainly is not a Jordanian tradition, Christmas is the day when Jesus is born, it’s about the family gatherings, going to church.. etc.

    Anyway, Mish mawdoo3na, Merry Christmas to all!

  • Mesh

    Merry Christmas All :)

    FACTS:

    1. christmas tree is derived from pre-Christian Germanic paganism.

    2. Santa Clause aka Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply “Santa”, used to give food to poor people in Christmas eve. not gifts, , but i like that fact that i might get PS3 on christmas xD

    3. Believe it or not, present-day Santa owes his red robe not to an ancient legend or to an early myth but to the Coca Cola Company.

    4. Many people will not have the same joy of Christmas as US and EU as they live in the other half of the earth (Australia), leading to a hot sweaty Christmas (that does not fit) with Papa Noel fur robe.

    i thank god for the Slaughtering Eid we have, that it is on a lunar calender, it comes on different seasons by coming years, a tiny fact that you may think it does not matter , but it does to other people.., those who wish to see snow on Christmas :)

    Merry Christmas , and a HABBY New Peaceful upcoming YearS !

  • bashar

    I have to disagree with you on this one. Eid is more profound than Christmas. You are complaining about slaughtering of sheep; well in the modern world people eat animal meat almost every day. It is sad that in today’s world people, especially in the west, managed to disengage themselves from reality. They excessively partake in eating meat while condemning the slaughter of animals. I bet you love it too, I can tell from all your previous stories about mansaf and kebeh neyah. Moreover, Eid reminds us of a tremendous act of sacrifice taken by the prophet Abraham. Whom on one fateful day attempted to sacrifice his own son for the sake of his god, and on the moment of reckoning his sharp knife’s edge went blunt and was rewarded a great giant ram in recognition of his act, this sound all too familiar to people of Palestine.

  • Dee

    zaid i would like to tell you that we all know that christmas was not the exact time jesus was born and it’s not about the time as it is about the event being celebrated…we do not know the exact day and there were a lot of different dates that could have been the real one. the time that makes more sense is september..but in the end i believe a random one was chosen all around the world to celebrate the birth of jesus for reasons i dont personally know. And lets not start with what we are taught or what we are following because i think we both know thats a discussion that will never end if started :)

  • mansaf girl

    Oh how you dare call Jesus Palestinian!lol… i was waiting on more people to protest ur statement, but perhaps they are too busy opening their christmas presents.
    Bashar i wholeheartedly agree with you.
    Roba do you have a problem with slaughtered sheep?

  • Mesh

    i hope every one is considering slaughtered humans in Gaza, 155 in one day and counting..

    as i said, Merry Christmas , and have a HABBY New Peaceful upcoming YearS !

  • Husams

    How funny we are laughing at our youngsters believing in santa claus while we never stop fighting over our own fairy tales.
    I loved your post Roba, lots of meanings.
    A. also Bethlahem is an Arabic word means house of meat, so we are not that much different, unless you think we are
    Between Mesh’s comment and mine another 40 died in Gaza, now its 195, I know we all wait god to be with them, then tomorrow is another day, merry Christmas to all and a happy new year.