قد عيد الميلاد

Merry Christmas!

I write to you from Ben Gurion airport in Tel-Aviv while in transit to Cairo. In an effort to avoid the inconveniences of Shabbat, I've arrived for my flight 7 hours early. I'm slightly sad that I have to spend my Christmas day in an airport, but the festivities of last night have certainly made me less bummed about spending Christmas in an airport. I'm extremely tired though.

Our day started with a Christmas dinner at the home of our coordinators in Beit Jala. The meal was complete with vegan mashed potatoes, guacamole, and vegan fudge. After exchanging gifts with our secret santa we headed to Christmas Eve service at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. The church itself is small, but truly perfection with high arches made out of limestone, stained glass windows and quaint pews. The service was given in Arabic, English, and German with each participant singing and praying in their native tongue. The service ended with a candlelit procession through Bethlehem singing Silent Night.

We then headed to Manager Square in Bethlehem where there was live music in front of the Church of the Nativity with thousands standing, listening. I couldn't help but notice that 90% of those attending the festivities were young men. This is a reality that I'm slowly coming to realize as public events are overwhelmingly attended by men. To feel comfortable, I usually need some sort of male escort to forgo the creepy stares, space violators, and unwanted comments from the sahba (young men). It's sad really, because women can’t feel comfortable celebrating even religious happenings because of a male dominated culture.

We took a break from Manager Square to have a proper Palestinian Christmas meal of pita, hummus, and falafel. It was nice to reflect with those I’ve gotten close to over the past months. Being away from family has been difficult for all of us, especially during the holidays, and it was nice to share a meal together and share stories and traditions (it also didn’t hurt that our meal cost a mere $2.50 – the cheapest Christmas meal I will ever have!).

The live music ended around 11pm to make way for services at the Church of the Nativity. Tickets are required for this event, so we decided to head to the Shepherd’s Fields in Beit Sahour to occupy our time. Walking through Beit Sahour was when it really felt like Christmas. Beit Sahour is one of two predominately Christian towns in the Israel/Palestine area so we were greeted with “Merry Chirstmas” and “Eid ill Melad Said” by many as we walked the street. Getting to Shepherd’s Fields took three attempts. Our first distraction was a procession of Catholics making their way to Bethlehem that we joined. Complete with mosquito torches, drums, guitars, and voices, we walked and talked with people from all over the world.

We decided to jump out of the procession early to again head to the Shepherd’s Field. As we walked down the street a woman wished us a Merry Christmas from her balcony and invited us in for tea. “From the bottom of my heart, please take tea with me on Christmas.” Leenda was her name and she prepared us tea with sage because that is what Mary had when she delivered baby Jesus. Leenda had children in America and used to be a pharmacist. She was spending Christmas alone, so it was nice to know that we were giving this generous woman company and that we had a bit of tea to warm up.

After tea, we made a third and final attempt to go to the Shepherd’s Field. It was about a 30-minute walk from Manager Square in Bethlehem. The field has since been turned into more of a park – a rarity in Palestine – complete with a chapel, fountain and multiple worshiping spaces. We could hear services in multiple languages, and familiar Christmas carols being sung in German, English, Arabic, and other unknown tongues.

After doing a bit of exploring, my fellow volunteers and I read the gospel from Luke and took some time to reflect on our night. I received a call from my home church in Casselton where I read the lessons and gave a brief rundown of my Christmas Eve in the Holy Land. It was nice to feel like I was a part of the service, despite not being able to hear anyone on the other end, I still felt connected to home.

I am preparing for my parents and brother to visit me here next week. I’m so excited to share my experiences with them. More to come…

Merry Christmas!