Christmas in Israel

Christmas in Israel is both a religious observance within a diverse Christian population and a season of public events in cities and villages, including Nazareth, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Christian communities in the Galilee.[1][2] Its character varies considerably: church calendars determine when communities celebrate, while local traditions shape processions, liturgies, tree lightings, markets, concerts, and festivals shared with residents and visitors.[3]

The celebration takes place in a society whose national public calendar is centered on Jewish holidays, while citizens also mark holidays associated with other religious and ethnic communities.[4] Christmas is not a nationwide public holiday for most Israelis: shops generally remain open, children attend school, and adults work.[5] Yet the holiday is publicly visible in communities with Christian residents, and Israel’s Tourism Ministry has at times worked with church officials to facilitate seasonal celebrations and visitor access.[6]

The Christian population is not identical to the population celebrating Christmas in any given year. Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics estimated about 184,200 Christians in the country on the eve of Christmas 2025, around 1.9% of the population; 78.7% were Arab Christians. The estimate excluded Christians not recorded in the Population Register, including foreigners, and the report’s other population data referred to the end of 2024.[7] Visitors, foreign workers, asylum seekers, and people observing cultural celebrations such as Novy God add further dimensions to the season, but should not be conflated with the resident Christian population.[5][8]

Christmas dates in Israel differ among Christian churches because communities follow different calendars and traditions. Western Christian communities generally celebrate on December 25. Many Eastern Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar, so their December 25 falls on January 7 in the Gregorian calendar.[3]

The Armenian observance in Jerusalem is commonly associated with January 19 in the Gregorian calendar, corresponding to January 6 in the Julian calendar. A 2020 Anti-Defamation League calendar likewise lists January 19 for Armenians living in Israel, while giving January 6 as the general date for Armenian Orthodox Christmas.[3][9]

Descriptions of the dates are not uniform across published accounts. One Jerusalem Post article gives January 6 for Greek Orthodox celebrations and January 16 for Armenian celebrations, while another gives January 7 for Greek Orthodox Christians and January 19 for the Armenian Church in Jerusalem.[1][10] The latter account explains the Armenian observance as combining Christmas and Epiphany: a two-day period on January 5–6 in the Julian calendar corresponds to the afternoon of January 18 through midnight on January 19 in the Gregorian calendar. It describes a Jerusalem service beginning late in the evening and continuing until morning, followed by cakes, breads, and sweets.[10]

Such date differences reflect the accounts’ distinct descriptions of calendar use and local practice; the sources do not provide a single uniform date applicable to every church. The season can therefore extend across several weeks. One report describes celebrations across Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Israel, and the Palestinian territories as lasting about three weeks, with traditional processions of patriarchs from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.[1]

Israel’s Christian communities encompass Arab and non-Arab populations and multiple churches and traditions. The Central Bureau of Statistics’ preliminary estimate for 2025 put the population at approximately 184,200; Arab Christians made up 78.7% of Christians and 6.8% of Israel’s Arab population. Of Arab Christians, 68.3% lived in the Northern District and 14.7% in the Haifa District. Among non-Arab Christians, 42.0% lived in the Tel Aviv and Central districts, compared with 33.9% in the Northern and Haifa districts.[7]

The CBS identified Nazareth as having the largest Arab Christian population among localities, at 18,900, followed by Haifa with 18,800, Jerusalem with 13,400, and Nof HaGalil with 10,800. These are counts of Arab Christians, not totals for all Christians in each city.[7] For historical context, the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research reported 16,000 Christian residents in Jerusalem at the end of 2017, including 12,600 Arab Christians, and ranked the city third in its concentration of Arab Christians after Nazareth and Haifa.[11] A 2023 report based on CBS data gave a similar overall picture: about 187,900 Christians, or 1.9% of the population, of whom 75.3% were Arab Christians.[12]

Christian communities include Armenians, Arameans, Catholics, Ethiopians, Maronites, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants. The American Jewish Committee described the overwhelming majority of Christians as Arab citizens.[13] A separate December 2024 account gave a population of 180,300, or approximately 1.8% of the population, with 78.7% Arab Christians, and said most Arab Christians lived in the Northern and Haifa districts.[14] These figures come from different reporting dates and should be read as time-specific estimates rather than interchangeable counts.[7][14]

The National Library of Israel describes Jewish holidays as the basis of the country’s annual Jewish festival cycle, while noting that many citizens also mark holidays associated with Muslim, Christian, and other ethnic communities. It distinguishes these broader religious and ethnic observances from national holidays and days of remembrance established after the state’s founding.[4] A Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research report says that official holidays and commemorative days of non-Jewish religious communities are recognized as rest days in the public sector, Arab and Druze educational systems, and local governments, with effects in parts of the private sector as well.[15]

Christianity’s public presence also includes worship, education, and community life beyond the Christmas season. In the 2023/24 school year, 87.7% of Christian 12th-grade students were eligible for a matriculation certificate. In 2024/25, 6,700 Christian students attended higher-education institutions, comprising 2.2% of all students there; women accounted for 61.1% of Christian students in higher education.[7] Christmas events thus take place within established communities with local congregations, schools, families, and institutions, as well as among visitors and migrant congregations.[1][8]

Church services and processions are central to Christmas in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem and Nazareth. Jerusalem’s Christian observances include pilgrimages and ceremonies by Eastern and Western churches during the Christmas and Easter seasons. Many services are open to the public, and the city’s religious life includes observances on feast and holy days.[16]

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a major Christian holy site in Jerusalem. A report on the city’s Christmas season described more than a dozen local Christian churches and communities, and noted that an 1852 Ottoman Status Quo arrangement regulates responsibilities at the church among several churches. The same account emphasized that Christmas in Jerusalem is also part of the life of residents, congregations, schools, families, and neighborhoods—not only a pilgrimage to holy places.[1]

Nazareth’s Basilica of the Annunciation is another Christian holy site and a focal point of seasonal worship. Local Masses can draw interest well beyond the congregation: a report described Jewish Israeli visitors among the Christmas crowds and said that demand from visitors led to a ticketing process for the main Mass at the church. Visitors also went to the city-center tree and market, as well as Nazareth Village, an open-air museum focused on the life, times, and teachings of Jesus.[17][13]

In a report on a Christmas period when the Tourism Ministry expected 70,000 visitors, the ministry was described as working with church officials and other organizations to facilitate celebrations. A traditional pre-Christmas reception in Jerusalem brought together Christian community and church leaders, including Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III, Vatican Ambassador Giuseppe Lazzarotto, and Custos of the Holy Land Pierbattista Pizzaballa.[6]

The ministry’s efforts were reported alongside investment in infrastructure at Christian sites. In the years preceding that report, it had invested close to NIS 100 million in developing and maintaining infrastructure, with the stated aim of improving pilgrims’ experiences. It also invested an additional NIS 2.5 million that year in infrastructure and marketing, seeking to build on tourism generated by the Pope’s visit to Israel in May.[6]

The figures were reported in the context of a difficult tourism year: incoming tourism had declined after Operation Protective Edge began in July 2014, and the report expected 2014 to end with 1% fewer tourists and 7% fewer visitors than 2013.[6]

Nazareth is a major setting for public Christmas celebrations. Events have included a decorated central square and tree, markets, guided tours, food events, and concerts in churches. A 2024 guide described Ha-Ma’ayan (Spring) Square as a starting point for guided tours and Church Square as the location of the city’s Christmas tree; it also listed family activities at the Ramada Olivie Hotel and a concert at the Anglican Church.[18]

A 2025 report described Nazareth’s traditional procession, central tree lighting at Spring Square, markets, food stalls, decorations, and performances. The city lit a 22-metre tree on December 14, described in that report as the tallest in the Middle East. The report said this was the first lighting of the official tree since 2023, after events had been significantly reduced for two years amid security conditions and falling tourism.[19]

Other northern towns and villages also hold seasonal events. A guide to the 2022 season listed celebrations in Shfar’am, Mi’ilya, Fassuta, Yarka, Tarshiha, and Eilabun, with events scheduled across December or concentrated around December 24–25. It also listed Christmas markets and events in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter and at the YMCA, seasonal events in Tel Aviv–Jaffa, and a Christmas fair at Timna Park featuring a six-metre decorated tree.[2]

In 2025, Fassuta’s streets and homes were decorated, with a central tree and processions involving local Scouts and Scouts from nearby Jewish communities. The village had no Christmas market that year because of budget limitations; events had been canceled in the preceding two years because of the village’s proximity to the border. A small holiday market was scheduled in Mi’ilya for December 19–20.[19]

Jerusalem’s public events include celebrations in and around the Old City. One Christmas-season report described a community bazaar organized by Old City volunteers with local businesses and schools, alongside the Greek Orthodox Christmas tree lighting at the Imperial Hotel near Jaffa Gate. The program included food and craft stalls, musicians, a Scouts parade, children’s activities, and carols in Arabic and Italian; Patriarch Theophilos III lit the tree. The report described Christians, Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, and international visitors mingling in the area.[1]

Haifa’s December “Holiday of Holidays” festival combines Christmas with Hanukkah and, when Ramadan falls in December, Ramadan. The festival has been held annually since 1993, according to a report describing its 2024 edition, which was organized by Haifa Municipality, Beit Hagefen’s Jewish-Arab Center, and the Wadi Nisnas Residents’ Committee. Free street performances, holiday booths, and concerts accompanied displays of a Christmas tree, a Hanukkah menorah, and a crescent moon and star.[20]

A 2025 account described the festival as initiated by Beit Hagefen in cooperation with the municipality and other partners, with tours, performances, art exhibitions, and food events. It presented the festival as a celebration of shared life in Haifa, a mixed city.[21] An earlier 2002 report called it the festival’s ninth year and described outdoor art by Jewish and Arab artists, bilingual poetry, liturgical music concerts in churches, fairs, and performances in Wadi Nisnas and the German Colony. That account said the festival aimed to promote tolerance through culture, art, and creative work.[22]

The two reports give different descriptions of the festival’s early chronology: the 2002 article called that year its ninth, while later accounts say it has been held annually since 1993. Both document its longstanding association with cultural programming and the city’s religious and social diversity.[21][22]

Christmas observance in Israel also involves migrant communities. An Associated Press report published by Ynet in 2011 described tens of thousands of Christian foreigners in southern Tel Aviv, mostly Filipino workers and African asylum seekers. It reported that they worshipped year-round in more than 30 churches located in apartment buildings, and that late-December decorations, carols, and gatherings made the community more visible around the Central Bus Station and in Neve Shaanan.[8]

The same report described a Christmas service in a makeshift church near the Central Bus Station, led by Filipino pastor Ruby Austria and attended by about 80 people, most of them Filipino women. The congregation sang and prayed while holding small children. The report noted that some women had lost work permits after having children and described churches as important meeting places for foreign residents facing uncertainty about their status.[8]

A mostly African congregation called Lift Up Your Head organized an annual trip to Jerusalem’s Old City and Bethlehem. Nigerian asylum seeker Anthony Stephens, who organized the trip, said 150 people had signed up. The report also described African-influenced gospel music, dancing, and preaching in churches operating in apartment buildings.[8]

The article illustrated how children may encounter different cultural settings at home and school. The daughter of a Filipino migrant worker spoke Hebrew and learned about Jewish holidays at school, while her mother said she knew Hanukkah but not Christmas. Mesila, a Tel Aviv aid organization, held an annual Christmas–Hanukkah party; its director described it as an effort to bridge migrant parents’ backgrounds and the Jewish culture their children encountered.[8]

Among Russian-speaking Israelis, the late-December season may include Novy God, the New Year beginning December 31, rather than Christmas. One report describes Novy God as a cultural family holiday for many Russian-speaking Israelis, with Christmas-like symbols and rituals, while distinguishing it from Christmas itself. A family in the account decorated a pine tree, placed gifts beneath it, shared a meal, and sang a song about a festive tree and the coming winter.[5]

The report traces elaborate Novy God customs to the Soviet period, when an atheist government prohibited recognition of Christmas and shifted its traditions by a week. Russian-speaking immigrants brought the custom to Israel during large-scale immigration in the 1990s. For some celebrants, Santa Claus is a grandfather-like gift-bringer rather than a saint, and songs focus on the season or coming year rather than Jesus’ birth.[5]

Christmas in Israel makes visible the country’s Christian communities and the religious diversity of its cities. In Nazareth and Galilee villages, worship and local community traditions coexist with public markets, concerts, decorated squares, and tourism.[18][19] Haifa’s Holiday of Holidays deliberately brings Christmas into a civic program that also features Jewish and Muslim symbols.[21][20] Jerusalem’s Old City events have brought together residents and visitors from multiple communities.[1]

The season also contributes to pilgrimage and tourism. The Tourism Ministry’s reported investments at Christian sites and coordination with church leaders show that Christmas can be significant not only to local worshippers but also to visitors. A report on one year anticipated 70,000 visitors, while describing infrastructure work intended to improve pilgrim experiences.[6] In Nazareth, seasonal events have been characterized as a major tourist draw and a source of income for the city.[23]

For many Jewish Israelis, Christmas is not a customary nationwide holiday, although the season can be encountered through public events, tourism, and personal relationships. A personal account set in December 2013 described a foreign resident welcomed into Jewish homes for Hanukkah candle-lighting, readings, and kosher meals. The writer also recalled Israeli acquaintances asking about his Christmas plans and inviting him to dinner, while noting that Christmas was not a holiday celebrated among Jewish Israelis. This is one individual’s account, not a survey of Israeli practice.[24]

Some public material frames Christmas as an expression of religious and cultural diversity. The Israel Forever Foundation’s curated collection includes a Christmas blessing by President Shimon Peres, material on Bethlehem and Tel Aviv, a Bethlehem tree lighting, and images of worshippers and tourists at Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. Its statements about religious freedom and protection of Christian practice represent the foundation’s characterization; the collection is not a detailed legal account or a comprehensive survey of observance.[25]

The increased visibility of Christmas has also drawn differing reactions. A 2011 report recorded objections from some Israelis who associated decorations with religious assimilation or with Christianity’s history of hostility toward Jews. Those were reported viewpoints, not a consensus among Israelis.[8] Christmas programming has also intersected with political disputes: in 2017, Nazareth’s city council announced that Mayor Ali Salam had ordered planned artistic events, including a festival and large Christmas market, canceled after the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Salam said the decision had taken away the holiday’s joy; days later he said celebrations would proceed, invited Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and described Nazareth as a city of peace and brotherhood.[23]

The range of practices—from church liturgies and pilgrimages to mixed-city festivals, migrant congregations, and Novy God—means there is no single Israeli Christmas experience.[5][8] The calendar itself also varies among churches and communities.[3]

Some notable Christmas episodes took place in Bethlehem, which is outside Israel; they form regional context for Jerusalem-based processions and pilgrimage, rather than descriptions of celebrations within Israel. In 1967, despite threats by Palestinian organizations and a Jordanian government call to boycott the celebrations, mounted Israeli police escorted the Latin Patriarch’s procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on December 24. The Church of the Nativity was packed with local residents and tourists for Midnight Mass, which foreign television networks broadcast live internationally.[15]

The same account says Israeli Jews were barred from attending that service. The stated concern was that their presence might displace local Christians and tourists and contribute to “unnecessary tension”; this describes a decision about one service, not a general ban on Jewish access to Christian sites.[15]

In December 1987, at the initiative of Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Greek-Catholic Archbishop Lutfi Laham, and Anglican Bishop Samir Kafity, Christmas ceremonies were substantially reduced. Some traditional courtesy visits by military-government officers to community leaders were also canceled. The account places the changes amid the Intifada and changing Christian leadership.[15]

At Christmas Mass in 1991, Patriarch Sabbah reiterated his opposition to Israeli rule over the Palestinian people and called for a just peace. A weeks-long Israeli military curfew in Ramallah, imposed after the murder of a Jewish settler, affected Christmas celebrations there.[15] After Israel evacuated Bethlehem under the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, Christmas in the city was celebrated under Palestinian authority. On Christmas Eve, mounted Palestinian police replaced the Israeli police who had escorted the Latin Patriarch from Jerusalem since 1967, while Midnight Mass from the Church of the Nativity continued to be broadcast internationally.[15]

These Bethlehem episodes reflect a particular political and historical setting and should not be treated as a general account of Christmas observance in Israel. Similarly, an earlier U.S. State Department report said Arab municipalities in Israel often recognized Christian and Muslim holidays, while also describing closure policies during its reporting period that impeded Palestinian access to places of worship in Jerusalem and the West Bank—known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria—during holidays including Christmas and Easter. Those claims refer to the period covered by that historical report, not present-day policy.[26]

Travel permits for Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank have affected access to seasonal events and religious sites in some years. For the 2022 Christmas season, Israeli officials reported issuing 500 permits for Christians in Gaza to enter Israel, while the NGO Gisha reported 649 permits for Christians to exit Gaza for the holiday. The report does not explain whether the figures concern the same permit categories, destinations, or reporting periods, so they cannot be directly reconciled.[27]

For that same season, Israeli officials reported issuing 8,000 permits for Palestinians from the West Bank to enter Israel and 500 family permits for West Bank residents to enter Gaza. These are counts of reported travel permits, not counts of Christmas worshippers or celebrants.[27]

For the 2023 Christmas season, the U.S. State Department reported that Israeli authorities issued no permits for Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza to enter Israel, citing security concerns amid the Hamas-Israel conflict. The report contrasted this with the 2022 figures of 8,000 permits for West Bank Palestinians and 500 for Palestinians from Gaza. These figures concern entry into Israel by Palestinians from those territories; they do not describe Christmas observance by Christian citizens or residents of Israel.[28]

The 2023 report also said that patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem urged Christians in the region to refrain from usual Christmas festivities and focus instead on the holiday’s spiritual meaning, solidarity with people suffering, peace, a humanitarian ceasefire, and de-escalation. This was an appeal made in the context of conflict, not a general cancellation of Christmas observances.[28]

Conflict has also shaped local celebrations in northern Israel. Haifa’s 2024 Holiday of Holidays events took place after more than 14 months of Hezbollah rocket attacks and a year without city-wide festivities in respect for the war with Hamas. A report said rocket fire had damaged properties, injured dozens, and killed two people near Haifa. A local Maronite priest called Christmas “very special, especially after the war,” linking the holiday’s message of hope with residents’ experiences.[20]

In northern border communities, security conditions also contributed to reduced or canceled celebrations before 2025. Fassuta’s events had been canceled for two years because of its proximity to the border, while Nazareth’s official tree lighting returned in 2025 after a two-year reduction in events amid security concerns and declining tourism.[19] These local reports describe specific years and places, not a general suspension of Christmas throughout Israel.