I am woefully behind with my blog, which means that I have not yet posted about our new apartment or new neighborhood! In October J and I bid a sentimental farewell to our German Colony apartment which served us beautifully as our first home as a married couple. With a baby coming, it was time to upgrade to a slightly larger place. We moved to Beit Sahour, a Christian Arab neighborhood located about 15 minutes from our old home and just 2 minutes and down the hill from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
One of the nicest perks about our new neighborhood is that it is predominantly Christian. This means that for the first time in our married life, we are living in a neighborhood that actually celebrates Christmas!! It isn’t exactly in the same style as in the US or Western Europe, but it is festive nonetheless! In Jewish neighborhoods, Christmas is a day like any other regular day, so there is definitely no advance preparation and build-up of a festive atmosphere. But here in Beit Sahour it is very different. The grocery store across the street from our apartment is playing Christmas music on the street. Christmas decorations in stores and homes are easy to spot. Streets are decorated. One can actually find multiple shops that sell Christmas themed candy, decorations, artificial trees, etc. We may be only minutes from downtown Jerusalem, but we are definitely living in another world!
The picture below provides a glimpse of the decorated main street. Our building is behind the Christmas tree. Yes…the one with the massive sign of Koreans wishing Beit Sahour a Merry Christmas (this sign just magically appeared one day!). Our apartment is directly behind their faces :)
Beit Sahour is known as the location of “Shepherd’s Field” where the angels came to announce the birth of Christ to shepherds watching their sheep in the fields (Luke 2:8-20). So you can easily imagine that Christmas is a very important day! We were excited to participate in the community’s biggest Christmas event -- the lighting of the Christmas tree, an event that was preceded by a parade of local scouts groups.
The end of the parade route…just under the soon-to-be lit tree.
The crowd in front of us…
and the crowd behind us.
And at last…the tree is lit.
And a short video to share the atmosphere with you!
5 comments:
When I traveled to the Middle East in college, I lived for a few weeks with a family in Beit Sahour. Thanks for the pictures!
Wow! They really get into it! :-)
What a neat experience to be there and celebrate Christmas with your neighbors in Beit Sahour. You blog makes us more excited about our upcoming journey in January to be with you all.
This is great!! I wish I were there too...
Cool! But the fireworks is 10days too early :-P
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