Published: 28 December 2017
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Who are the Jews celebrating Christmas… in Israel? (Forward)
Shira Greenblatt, a secular Israeli Jew who was born and raised in Jerusalem, loves Christmas. “Every year I attend Christmas services at the Dormition Abbey on Mt Zion in Jerusalem, and I will go again this year, too. It’s very special to learn about Christianity here, in Jerusalem. And I love the lights, the songs, and the majesty,” she enthused.
Greenblatt, 42, a secretary, is one of the thousands of Israeli Jews who attend Christmas festivities and religious services throughout the country. Christmas in Israel has become so popular that even Go Tel Aviv, a hip city guide, is offering an edition of The Five Top Places to Celebrate the Holiday Season in the Holy Land.
“There is nothing like a beautiful Christmas tree to get into the atmosphere of the holiday season,” the guide advises, citing some of Israel’s best-lit trees and most inspiring masses. In towns with a Christian majority, mostly located in northern Israel, Christmas is a public holiday.
The Jewish National Fund provides Christmas trees for NIS 80 (about A$30), and the Jerusalem municipality provides lighted decorations, “in areas where the holiday is observed,” according to a municipal announcement, referring to non-Jewish neighbourhoods.
But for most Jewish and Muslim Israelis, Christmas is just another workday, with no religious, social or commercial impact.
