This Christmas, partners of THIMAR LSESD around the Middle East are celebrating Christmas amid varying circumstances and challenges. Some are celebrating this holiday freely with church services, gift exchanges, carols, and family gatherings. Others are celebrating more quietly, festivities subdued by conflict and crises.
As with previous Christmases, we are coming alongside our partners this year to help with Christmas celebrations in their communities. Through this initiative, our church discipleship ministry, Salt & Light, is supporting more than four dozen churches and ministries with Christmas events in Lebanon and Syria, providing them with gifts for thousands of children.
The true story of Christmas continues to bring hope and light to communities longing for peace with God and neighbor.
As we support our partners in celebrations, we also want to highlight the ways they are remembering the birth of Christ. Amid the unique challenges and circumstances they face, we see how the true story of Christmas continues to bring hope and light to communities longing for peace with God and neighbor.
Lebanon: another Christmas in another challenging year
The roads are buzzing and full of traffic in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city, as people rush to buy gifts for Christmas. In Christian towns elsewhere in Lebanon, Christmas decorations draw visitors from across the country with their colorful lights and markets. The festivity gives some life and cheer to a country still on the edge of war.
But the Christmas scene is not the same everywhere.
In a village in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley where one of Thimar’s church partners is located, the signs of Christmas are easy to miss. There are few decorations amid ongoing hostilities and the remnants of last year’s full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. Recovery efforts have been slow in the area. Economic hardships persist, and many shops and streets feel lifeless.
Still, local believers are celebrating Christmas.
The village kicked off the holiday season with a special Christmas program for 180 Syrian students.
Our partner in the village kicked off the holiday season with a special Christmas program for 180 Syrian students studying at the church’s informal education center, sharing with them the story of Jesus’ birth and gifts from Salt & Light. Later this month, the church will host a similar Christmas celebration for around 100 local children and those from nearby villages.
These events reflect the church’s longstanding commitment to its community. For more than 12 years, Thimar has come alongside it to meet the needs of people without discrimination. This Christmas, amid lingering hardship, the church continues its witness.
Churches bring Christmas joy to children in Syria
One year since Syria’s former regime was toppled, challenges and violence continue. But in a village in the country’s west where one of Thimar’s church partners serve, people are experiencing a more hopeful atmosphere. Streets are being decorated, and a Christmas village has been set up, drawing visitors from nearby areas with its exhibitions, markets, and programs.
Our church partner is preparing two Christmas events to bring together hundreds of children, teenagers, and young adults. At the heart of both gatherings is a Christmas play that shares the message of the gospel. Church members are also visiting homes throughout the village, singing carols, praying with families, and bringing the meaning of Christmas directly to people.
People are happy because someone is checking on them.
“People are worried and afraid because of everything they hear and see on the news,” said Pastor Fadi*, the head pastor of our church partner. “But when we come to their homes, everyone opens their doors and watches. It’s so nice to see the sparkle in their eyes. People are happy because someone is checking on them, asking about them, caring for them, and remembering them.”
Iraq: Christmas amid relative stability
In Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, Christmas decorations and a festive atmosphere are visible in several parts of the city. Churches are preparing for their celebrations and anticipating the holiday season. Earlier in December, one of Thimar’s partner churches organized a children’s event, welcoming more than 190 children from different religious backgrounds along with their parents. The church also hosted a charity market for the surrounding community.
The birth of Christ is for the salvation of humanity.
During the event, Pastor Boulos* shared a message centered on “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and joy to people,” emphasizing that the birth of Christ is for the salvation of humanity, so that all people may experience peace, joy, and salvation. Families who attended expressed happiness and appreciation for the time spent together.
Reflecting on recent years, Pastor Boulos noted that the past few years have been better than those before, describing a sense of relative stability in the country. The church is also preparing to spend New Year’s Eve together, welcoming the new year in prayer as a congregation, and continues regular home group visits where the pastor encourages members and prays with them.
“At that time, when Jesus was born, humanity was experiencing great pain, and God incarnated and created hope for a new change. This is the hope we hold onto today. With the relative stability in Iraq, we look forward to a better tomorrow, by the grace of Christ,” Pastor Boulos said.
Sudan: celebrating Christmas during war
Elsewhere in the region, our partners are celebrating Christmas in more restrictive circumstances.
Christmas is being celebrated under the weight of ongoing war and fear.
Among Sudanese believers, Christmas is being celebrated under the weight of ongoing war and fear. In the war-torn capital of Khartoum, a Sudanese alumni of Thimar’s Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) notes that programs at the church he pastors are modest this year.
The church will host various events and programs throughout Christmas week, including children’s events, carols, prayers, and biblical games. But public celebrations are limited, the pastor said. Christmas marches and decorations, once part of the season before the war, are no longer possible. Random gunfire and the presence of extremist groups have created an atmosphere of fear.
“This year is different from last year,” Pastor Youssef* shared. “Last Christmas was extremely hard. Any gathering could be attacked. This year, there is slightly more space to gather, but the fear is still there.”
Amid challenging circumstances, the meaning of Christmas resonates more deeply with Youssef.
When we reflect on the Christmas story, we see both pain and hope.
“When we reflect on the Christmas story, we see both pain and hope,” Youssef said. “Jesus is the Prince of Peace. In the middle of our challenges, the story of his birth gives us a glimpse of hope and joy.”
Yemen: believers gather for quiet Christmas celebrations
For believers in Yemen, Christmas celebrations happen within tight limits.
“Society rejects public Christmas ceremonies and celebrations,” said Saleh*, an ABTS alumni. “Some people post on social media that it is forbidden to greet someone for Christmas or even to post about it.”
Believers in Yemen celebrate Christmas privately with their families at home, often in small groups of four or five households. Other families step outside the city to sit in nature and enjoy the day. Whether at home our outside, it is a time to rest and remember the true joy of Christmas.
Christian celebration is about sacrifice and giving.
“Christian celebration is about sacrifice and giving,” Saleh said. “It gives a glimmer of hope to society, letting them see a different color of Christmas, a new opportunity for peace, something they are already deprived of.”
Despite all the hardship engulfing Yemen, Saleh remains hopeful. He believes God is at work in Yemen in ways that often go unseen.
“God is reaching people in Yemen,” he said. “More than you can imagine, with or without us.”
His prayer this Christmas is that the Lord will protect churches and their congregations as they persevere in their faith amid the challenges they face.
“Christ is powerful,” Saleh said. “This is His church, and He will not abandon it. He is responsible for protecting it, and it will always exist.”
*Pseudonyms
Originally published by Thimar LSESD. Republished with permission.
Ghinwa Akiki joined Thimar LSESD in April 2023 as a communications coordinator. With her profound love for writing, she discovered a platform to nurture her literary passion and communication skills. At Thimar LSESD, Ghinwa engages in various facets of communication, allowing her to grow and refine her writing abilities across different domains. Ghinwa pursued her BA in Arts in Modern Languages and Translation at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK). Her early career in education began at Beirut Baptist School, where she gained rich experience working with students. Ghinwa is a member of City Bible Church in Beirut, where she is actively involved in children’s ministry and singing.
Thimar LSESD is a Lebanese nonprofit organization (NGO) that seeks to strengthen the witness of the Church in the Arab World through inclusive education, community development, and church discipleship.
Thimar works alongside local schools, ministries, and churches throughout the Arab World. Through these relationships, we see God at work, even in times of war and crisis. Come share in His miraculous, life-giving work of transforming communities and changing lives.
