Nazareth celebrates Christmas without usual glitter
Popular Nazareth Mayor Ali Salam first canceled, then uncanceled, the Christmas festivities at Nazareth, the city known as Jesus’ hometown, in response to Trump's Jerusalem declaration. While the festivities went on as usual, very few people joined the celebration.
NAZARETH, Israel — Sammy sells balloons down the street from Mary’s Well in Nazareth, the site where Christians believe the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she would give birth to the son of God. This year, he said, business is not good.
Each December, the streets leading down from the iconic Church of the Annunciation and Mary’s Well Square are packed with food stalls peddling hot potatoes and fried sugary dough, and vendors offering everything from knockoff pashminas to T-shirts and leather bags.
Pilgrims trek from every corner of the world to experience Christmas here in Nazareth, where shops deck their halls with fuzzy Santa hats, red and green wreaths and boughs, and bright banners in English welcoming tourists to Jesus’ childhood home.
But while the economic woes of Arab Israelis have led to less-than-merry Christmas seasons for the past several years, President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has cast an especially long pall over this year’s festivities.
