Rural Damascus - SANA
In the midst of a festive atmosphere, Dayr al-Sayyida Square in Saidnaya in the countryside of Damascus witnessed this evening the lighting of a 33-meter-high Christmas tree, followed by the opening of a 400-square-meter Christmas cave.
Ziad Azar, head of the Our Lady of Saydnaya Monastery Ceremonial Division, considered in a speech to him that lighting the Christmas tree in the courtyard of the monastery represents illumination of human hearts with love and goodness and the celebration of the Lord Christ, the King of Light, who came to call us to brotherhood, truth, mercy and faith, and to make us kings over injustice and sin and to live a better life in which there is just peace and happiness. Permanent, expressing his thanks to the people of Sednaya for their great support in holding celebrations in the monastery and providing what is necessary for that.
In his turn, the poet Riad Saadeh delivered poetic paragraphs expressing the lofty meanings of the glorious Christmas and its symbols that call for coexistence and tolerance, whatever the circumstances and the challenges.
In a statement to SANA, Father Kabriel El-Khoury, priest of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Adra in Saydnaya, said that lighting the tree and opening the Saydnaya cave represents a message of peace from the people of Syria to the whole world, congratulating all Syrians on the glorious Christmas holidays that are today drawing joy on the faces of Syrians and praying to God that security and peace return Syria returns as it was prosperous by the will of life that all Syrians possess and is hostile to President Bashar al-Assad.
A number of Saydnaya residents expressed their joy at the distinctive atmosphere of the holiday this year, which indicates that every new year that passes over the country is better than the previous one, wishing that peace and security prevail in Syria and protect its people, army and leader from all harm, and that the birth of Christ is a prelude to the resurrection and salvation of Syria from Her ordeal and to come back stronger than it was.
The tree lighting ceremony and the opening of the cave were attended by Father George Nijmeh, priest of the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Saydnaya, Father Andrew Skandavi, Priest of the Melkite Roman Catholic Parish of Agiasofia, and official and popular activities.
Hilana Hindi and Rehab Ali
