ASIA/JORDAN - Church leaders: Christmas without festivities as a sign of respect and closeness to the victims of Gaza

Monday, 6 November 2023 area crisis oriental churches middle east christmas

Xenia Makosky

JORDAN

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Amman (Agenzia Fides) - In the Kingdom of Jordan, Christian communities will live next Christmas renouncing the convivial and festive moments that usually precede and accompany Christmas celebrations, as a sign of respect and closeness to the innocent victims caused by ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Territories.
There will be no Christmas markets, no scout or musical bands, no concerts and parades, and no no celebrations to distribute gifts to children. The call to cancel events related to the Christmas season came from the Council of Church Leaders in Jordan. After a meeting hosted on Thursday, November 2, at the Greek Orthodox Archbishopric of Amman, the leaders of the Churches and ecclesial communities in the Kingdom issued a statement in which they also requested that donations and offerings of the special collection, which will take place in all the Churches of the Kingdom next Sunday, November 12, be allocated to the people of Gaza.
All Christians in Jordan are invited to live next Christmas in a sober manner, participating in liturgical celebrations and renouncing public festivities. In the statement, Jordan's church leaders also said they share King Abdullah II's "upright stance" in the face of atrocities in the Holy Land and support all efforts to "silence the voice of war ". (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 6/11/2023)