Another entry under "Things I Wasn't Expecting"

As I spent last Christmas in Nazareth, I decided that this year I could celebrate in Jerusalem. I had debated going to Bethlehem, but finally decided not to for a few reasons, namely that it would be really crazy busy there and my Israeli friends wouldn't be able to go with me (Israelis are forbidden from entering Bethlehem because it's in Area A).

Christmas in Israel is, as one can imagine, hard to spot. As 80% of the population is Jewish and most of the remaining 20% are Muslim, finding Christians can be a little tough. The other reason is that the Arab Christian community is growing smaller and smaller due to a combination of discrimination by the Israeli government for being Arabs and by the Arab population for being Christians. Their middle/upper-class mobility is also a bone of contention within the Arab community, but also allows them to afford to emigrate elsewhere. As the Arab Christian population has halved in the past 50 years, this is clearly a popular option.

That's not to say that Israeli is entirely devoid of Christmas. There are a number of shops in Arab East Jerusalem which had Christmas displays or even just a Christmas tree in the front window, and there's a lingerie store in Tel Aviv that had some very suggestive Santa outfits, if you catch my drift. Still, it's definitely a stark contrast to the United States where one is practically struck over the head by Christmas as soon as one leaves the house.

This led me to have to create my own Christmas atmosphere. The hard part, for me, was remembering to do it. Even with my Advent calendar, it was still quite easy to forget that the days of December quickly flying by and, if wasn't until Christmas was almost upon me, that I got out my Christmas playlist on iTunes and started really getting into the spirit.

For Christmas Eve, I decided to go to the Old City of Jerusalem for services. There is a Lutheran church in the Christian quarter that I was always keen on going to but never quite got around to; that and they have services on Sunday mornings, which is a business day here. So I figured a German Lutheran church would be pretty similar to what I was used to.

Suffice to say, I was mostly correct with a few slight corrections. For one, Germans have different tunes to some of the traditional Christmas songs most Americans know. Second, half the church was filled with Jewish Israelis who came for the service. Apparently, they like the atmosphere and the music. And, no, the irony of a German church full of Jewish Israelis was not lost on me.

The service itself was simple, as are most services on high holy days. There was lots of singing (lots!), gospel readings in German and Hebrew (with some English and Arabic thrown in now-and-then), and candle-lighting. And it's in one of those old, Gothic-style churches that I love.




Afterwards, we went to a pub where a friend works for their annual Christmas party: Santa hats, Christmas lights, techno music, the works. And, as only happens in Israel, the Hasidic Jews show up. To cause trouble? No. They light a menorah (remember, it's also Hanukkah), dance for about five minutes, and then leave. You know, just to make sure no one forgets they're Jewish. Only in Israel.