Damascus:
Three thousand Santa Clauses marched through Aleppo Street in the heart of the Syrian capital, beating drums and singing, celebrating Christmas Eve on a rainy night.Despite the Damascus chill, the residents of Damascus were seemingly thrilled at celebrating Christmas, gathering on both sides of the street to watch the procession, while entire families gathered on balconies to wave to the Santas.At the Mar Elias Church, a large exhibition was held at a cave, mirroring the one in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, welcoming 5,000 visitors in the days preceding Christmas Day
."All Syrians celebrate Christmas," said Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmad Hassoun, known for his untiring efforts to promote inter-faith dialogue in the Muslim world.He told Gulf News
,"There are no differences in Syria between Muslims and Christians; just like all Christians share our celebrations in the Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr. We celebrate humanity, manifested by God through Moses, Jesus and Mohammad."Speaking to the Italian daily La Republica shortly before Christmas, First Lady Asma Al Assad echoed these words, saying:
"We Syrians are a single body. Our history did not start yesterday: it is a history that is thousands of years old; St Paul and the Umayad mosque are part of who I am as a human being."Civil society activist and entrepreneur Abdulsalam Haykal refuses to use the word "co-existence," in describing Christian-Muslim harmony in Syria. In a recent letter to US President-elect Barack Obama, sent via former President Jimmy Carter on his latest trip to Damascus, Haykal wrote: "[Syrians] are not the product of today, or of the turbulent 20th century. We are a blend of cultures that have - for centuries - triumphed over their different ethnic or religious identities to form one nation."
By Sami Moubayed, Correspondent
As in the days of Noah....