Once again, Beirut rises from the rubble and wipes off the dust from one of the most devastating attacks it has ever seen. Today, after the August 4 explosion that struck at the heart of the capital and suspended its pulse for days, Beirut, clinging to hope, tries to avoid missing out on the holiday season, with Christmas and New Year’s Eve fast approaching. It is determined to walk on and take off the clothes of sadness imposed by the catastrophe to posh up and take the appearance it typically does; that of a city of joy and color.
Beirut’s streets, alleys, squares, and streets have been illuminated by Christmas lights. Shops in the center of the capital spread set up decorations along the main road and on their branches. The streets of Mar Mikhael and Gemmayzeh have also worn the festive attire and are preparing for the rival of Christmas markets, the Beirut Chant concerts, and several environmental and social activities, thanks to the efforts of its people, residents, and individual initiatives.
On December 18, the Christmas activities under the title Solidarity Christmas Village will launch in Mar Mikhael. From the wounded heart of Beirut, the festive program will be inaugurated with a free concert performed by the graduates and students of the Holy Spirit University of Kasslik and includes daily activities from five in the afternoon until ten at night running until the 23rd of this month. Like other organizers of festive events in Beirut, the parties behind the initiative called on attendees to wear face masks and respect social distancing measures.
The 'In Action Events' organized Christmas Fair on Mar Nicolas Street in the Tabaris neighborhood in Ashrafieh launched its seventh edition in December. The program includes music, games, food and drinks.
A huge Christmas tree was set up in Sassine Square as part of the 'Christmas Village' in a tribute to the victims of the Beirut bombing. The names of the martyrs of the August 4 explosion are engraved on a wooden plaque placed next to it. A recreational space brimming adults and children, buying Ghazl al-Banat (an Arab sweet similar to cotton candy) and kunafa with cheese and sesame, and carrying colorful balloons as they explore the Christmas Village and the various activities organized for the occasion. Sassine will host Christmas activities until the end of the month.
For their part, commercial centers have chosen to decorate their spaces, each according to his own style. Because of the economic crisis that hit them hard on the one hand, and the lockdowns on the other they chose to re-use last year's. decorations. ABC shopping mall franchise decorated its three branches (Ashrafieh, Dbayeh, and Verdun) with his Christmas paintings, and a festively decorated large golden Christmas tree was erected in the middle of the City Center shopping center in Hazmieh.
Municipalities in Beirut and elsewhere, similarly financially strained, also reused last year’s decorations. Neither they nor any commercial institutions, local associations, or banks have the luxury to spend money on decorating, thus leaving places like Jbeil, whose Christmas trees had been lauded as the most beautiful for years, without a festive atmosphere.
