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FEATURE<br />
Iraqi Christians attend a<br />
Christmas Eve Mass at the<br />
at the Sacred Heart Church of<br />
the Syriac Catholics in Basra,<br />
Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.<br />
Christmas in Iraq<br />
Recalling holiday traditions from the homeland<br />
AP PHOTO/NABIL AL-JURANI<br />
would be given a gift, usually a box of<br />
chocolate or liquor.<br />
Iraqis schedule the festivities of<br />
Christmas Day according to interests<br />
and priorities of visits, which usually<br />
begin with the family and the grandfather’s<br />
house, followed by family gatherings<br />
that help strengthen social relations<br />
and exchanging conversations<br />
about memories of the beautiful past.<br />
In addition to preparing food for the<br />
guests, they meet for the meal at one<br />
dining table. These scenes do not occur<br />
very often the rest of the year, but they<br />
provide an important opportunity for<br />
Iraqi families to bond together. It also<br />
constitutes an occasion for resolving<br />
disputes and problems, as well as for<br />
visiting relatives whose work conditions<br />
do not allow frequent visits.<br />
BY ADHID MIRI, PHD<br />
Christmas celebrations vary from<br />
nation to nation owing to their<br />
distinct customs, culture, and<br />
religious practices. Christmas in Iraq,<br />
surrounded by those with different beliefs,<br />
is unique.<br />
Many Christians in the West celebrate<br />
Christmas with door-to-door<br />
caroling, special church services, and<br />
family gatherings to share the joy of<br />
the birth of baby Jesus. But that is not<br />
the case in many restrictive and dangerous<br />
countries around the world,<br />
including Iraq.<br />
In Iraq, Christmas is a unique occasion<br />
for Christians; the celebrations,<br />
customs, and traditions are very religious<br />
in nature. Persecuted for their<br />
faith, the people in Iraq associate the<br />
festival of Christmas with two things<br />
— the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrations<br />
of the mid-winter holidays.<br />
With great devotion, the Christians<br />
celebrate the festival of Christmas by<br />
carrying out religious services and<br />
reciting prayers. The celebrations are<br />
historically serene and peaceful.<br />
Unfortunately, Christmas has not<br />
been the same in Iraq for some time<br />
now. In today’s Iraq, traditions of<br />
Christmas are disappearing quickly,<br />
and many are found only in the memories<br />
of our oldest community members.<br />
Since militants of the Islamic<br />
State stormed the Nineveh Plain towns<br />
near Mosul and began killing and driving<br />
out Christians, people fled to safety<br />
in Baghdad.<br />
Celebrating Christmas in the “Cradle<br />
of Civilization” was once truly a<br />
distinctive experience, one this author<br />
would like to share with you.<br />
Christmas Eve<br />
The Christmas practices in Iraq are<br />
quite different when compared to<br />
other countries. A popular custom<br />
includes the lighting of the bonfire in<br />
the courtyards of houses on Christmas<br />
Eve. On that special night, Iraqi Christian<br />
families would gather and, following<br />
tradition, one of the children<br />
in the family would read the Nativity<br />
story from the Arabic Bible while other<br />
family members held lighted candles.<br />
Once the story is over, a bonfire<br />
made of dried thorns would be lit in<br />
one corner of the house. According to<br />
the Iraqi people, they can predict the<br />
future of their household in the coming<br />
year by just watching the way the<br />
fire burns in the bonfire. For them, if<br />
the dried thorns burn to ashes, the<br />
family will be blessed with good fortune.<br />
A psalm was sung while the fire<br />
continued to burn. As the fire burnt<br />
out and the thorns reduced to ashes,<br />
the members of the family leapt over<br />
the ashes three times and completed<br />
the ceremony by making wishes towards<br />
the end.<br />
On Christmas Eve, families and relatives<br />
came together and made elaborate<br />
preparations of cookies, cakes, and<br />
special dishes for their children. Families<br />
decorated real Christmas trees and<br />
put-up decorations like garlands and<br />
lights around the house. The young<br />
and old would dress up nicely for<br />
Christmas. Everyone would be joyous,<br />
and kids would always look forward<br />
to getting gifts. Outings to amusement<br />
parks, the movies, cousins, and relatives’<br />
houses were truly special.<br />
Christmas Day<br />
On Christmas Day, religious services<br />
were held at all the churches around<br />
various cities. Christian families from all<br />
localities attended these services. In the<br />
villages and towns, a bonfire was lit inside<br />
the main church, followed by a procession.<br />
Church officials would march<br />
along with the bishop, who would be<br />
carrying a figure of the infant Jesus<br />
Christ, which was placed on a red cushion.<br />
After the procession, the bishop<br />
touched the hand of one person and the<br />
touch was passed on to all those present<br />
in the ceremony. This custom is known<br />
as the “Touch of Peace.” Thus, when<br />
Christmas service for the day ended, all<br />
the people in the church were blessed.<br />
Families would eat breakfast together<br />
before going to church and<br />
then spent the day visiting relatives,<br />
wishing them a Merry Christmas. It<br />
was usual that some family members<br />
stayed in their own homes to receive<br />
guests, well-wishers, and relatives<br />
during the day. Each household visited<br />
Gifts<br />
Iraqi parents did not buy traditional<br />
Christmas gifts presents for their children,<br />
as that custom was not common.<br />
Instead, the children received<br />
a new outfit. Some more well-off parents<br />
would give their children money,<br />
which was spent on chocolate, ice<br />
cream and other sweets.<br />
Greetings were exchanged<br />
amongst the families. Visitors were<br />
typically offered special food and an<br />
aromatized fortified wine drink (Vermouth)<br />
served with winter citrus jam<br />
(Tringe /Ugly Fruit).<br />
In Baghdad, Muslims were often<br />
known to share the rituals of the occasion<br />
with Christians, exchanging<br />
congratulations, gifts, and visits. Social<br />
media has made meeting from a<br />
distance possible through the virtual<br />
world, but nothing can replace the<br />
feelings of in-person visits and the real-world<br />
exchange of congratulations,<br />
gifts, and greetings between people.<br />
Recalling the holidays of my youth, it<br />
was all first-class food and new clothes.<br />
The church was warm, beautiful, and<br />
full of happiness. On a holiday like<br />
Christmas, we would always share food<br />
with our neighbors, and they would do<br />
the same for us during other holidays.<br />
I love the memory of my parents<br />
taking me and my siblings to see relatives<br />
during Christmas. We didn’t have<br />
a car, but as kids, we would get excited<br />
to take the bus or a taxi and would<br />
enjoy the long drive from downtown<br />
Baghdad to the suburbs. We would<br />
make time to go to different relatives’<br />
18 CHALDEAN NEWS <strong>DECEMBER</strong> <strong>2023</strong>
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