Christmas in Lebanon

People spend time with their loved ones at home, attend church services, cook traditional food, set up nativity scenes, and watch festive performances.

Lebanon’s religious history is somewhat turbulent, but a country located so close to the Holy Land was bound to celebrate the birth of Christ and adopt early Christmas traditions.

Despite a prevalently Muslim population, towns in Lebanon put up elaborate, shiny festive displays and giant Christmas trees, and locals wish each other “Eid Milad Majid!”.

Christmas Decorations in Lebanon

Lebanese don’t get to experience a white Christmas, but the streets of Beirut and other major Lebanon towns don’t lack a festive atmosphere.

Instead of snowflakes and snowmen, Lebanese use neutral holiday symbols like gifts, angels, and stars in decoration.

Locals love to wander the streets in the evening, enjoying vibrant holiday displays from fairy lights.

Store windows, museums, and other public places are always creative with decoration. The first decorations start appearing on the streets in late November.

Lebanese rarely decorate their house exterior but put a Christmas tree in the living room. The Christmas tree may be artificial or natural but always adorned with lights, baubles, and ornaments, often handmade from paper or wood.

House lanterns with intricate cut-outs are very popular in Lebanon, paying homage to the country’s unique architectural style. Christmas wreaths from evergreen branches, garlands, and other traditional decorations are also common.

Christmas Food in Lebanon

Food is a significant element of Lebanese Christmas. Some families get together on Christmas Eve after church, but most locals gather on Christmas Day for a festive brunch or lunch.

Lebanese Christmas food is primarily meat-based, always generously sprinkled with spices. Lebanese Christmas feast may be the heaviest and most indulgent across the Arabic world because it involves plenty of nuts, dried fruit, and butter.

Hummus is a must on the Lebanese table, be it an ordinary day or celebration, made with chickpeas, herbs, olive oil, and lemon juice. Lebanese eat hummus with pita or as a spread with main dishes.

Shawarma is a traditional Lebanese dish from lamb or chicken in marinade mixed with vegetables and topped with sauce. Some families serve American-style stuffed turkey with oriental spiced rice on the side.

Meat and bulgur pie is a lesser-known staple of Lebanese cuisine that every tourist must try. The recipe is simple yet delicious.

Mezze selection is always plentiful, from batata harra (fried potato with coriander and garlic) to sambousek (dough with minced meat).

Other traditional Lebanese Christmas dishes include spicy potatoes and stuffed vine leaves. When it comes to desserts, the Lebanese blend European and Arabic traditions.

Baklava, a worldwide-renown Arabic dessert made with crispy dough, pistachio nuts, and honey or rose syrup, is a must on a festive Lebanese table.

Sweet cheese dessert topped with pistachios and rose petal jam is another traditional sweet. Most Lebanese desserts involve some combination of pistachios, pastry, honey, and rose jam or syrup.

Because Lebanon is a former French colony, many families serve the Yule Log cake, also known as Bûche de Noël. It’s a chocolate roll decorated to resemble a log, paying homage to the pagan Yule Log burning tradition.

Adults usually drink rose wine, whisky, or araq – a traditional spirit made with anise, similar to Greek ouzo. Kids enjoy soda or juice, but some try their first beer at about seven years old.

Gift Exchange

Like most Christians, Lebanese exchange gifts with their loved ones for Christmas. Usually, the gift exchange occurs between immediate family members, but some Lebanese also exchange gifts with other people they meet throughout the holidays.

Most families exchange gifts on Christmas Day, after returning home from the morning mass or whenever everyone gathers. However, some prefer to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.

Generally, Lebanese care little about a gift’s monetary value and more about the thought. Gifts in Lebanon signify friendship.

For this reason, Lebanese often exchange inexpensive gifts with their friends for Christmas, provided the friends are also Christians.

If someone is invited to a Lebanese house for Christmas dinner, they are expected to bring flowers, sweets, alcohol, or small gifts for children. Large, expensive gifts are only appropriate for very close friends or family members.

Midnight Mass

The Midnight Mass is a universal Christmas tradition observed across all denominations and regions.

The custom originated in the fourth century in Jerusalem. It reached the western world in the fifth century when a woman Egeria traveled to the Holy Land and witnessed the ritual.

Because Lebanon is located so close to Israel, Lebanese likely adopted the tradition much earlier than Europeans. Nowadays, people go to their local churches at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve to read biblical passages, pray, and sing hymns.

Around midnight, people rejoice, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Afterward, everyone goes home to feast with the family. The most devoted Christians also attend the Christmas Day service.

Residents of Beirut typically attend a Midnight Mass in the Cathedral of St. Louis or Saint George’s Cathedral.

In Brerke, Christmas church services take place in Patriarchal Seat, and in Byblos, in the Cathedral of St. John Mark.

Not every town in Lebanon has a Catholic cathedral, though, so some Lebanese stay home with family and pray.

Papa Noel

Lebanese Santa Claus is known as Papa Noel or Baba Noel and bears much resemblance with American Santa. He also has a red fur-trimmed suit with a black buckled belt, round glasses, and a long white beard.

However, Lebanese Santa doesn’t enter homes through the chimney because locals don’t need fireplaces in such a warm climate. Instead, he leaves gifts under the Christmas tree or in shoes put on the windowsill.

Reindeer aren’t a focal point of the holidays either. Lebanese Santa doesn’t have a preference when it comes to transportation – he may travel in his sleigh, on a bike, or on foot. Most importantly, all gifts should reach their recipients.

Like in the U.S., kids in Lebanon can meet Santa in shopping malls. However, Santa isn’t an equally popular figure in Lebanon as in the U.S. – some kids know they receive gifts from their parents and don’t mind it.

Carols

Music is integral to Lebanese Christmas celebrations. Local children go caroling just like kids in the U.S. or sing hymns in churches and concert halls, but Lebanese Christmas songs are different from European and American.

You’re unlikely to hear someone singing We Three Kings of Orient or The Twelve Days of Christmas in Lebanon, though you may hear Silent Night translated to Arabic.

Lebanese have unique locally produced Christmas hymns like Leilat el Milad Toukaf el Harbou (The War Stops on Christmas Eve), Jaye Al Layleh Yasoo (Jesus Is Coming Tonight), and Thalj Thalj (Snow Snow).

Most famous Lebanese Christmas hymns are performed by one singer, Fairuz. Born in 1934, she is considered the leading vocalist of the Arab world and is commonly called “the soul of Lebanon.”

So, Lebanese shopping malls don’t play Jingle Bells or White Christmas, but Fairuz’s voice can be heard in every store and café.

Nativity Cribs

Nativity scenes are widespread globally, first set up by Franciscan monk Francis of Assisi in 1223. Lebanese consider nativity scenes the most important Christmas decoration, much more significant than the Christmas tree, and usually craft them with family.

A nativity scene traditionally depicts Mary, Joseph, Jesus in a manger, shepherds, and the Magi. Sometimes, nativity scenes also include farm animals and various biblical characters that appear in the nativity story at different times.

Lebanese craft figures for the nativity scene from clay, wood, or any other material they can work with. Some locals purchase the figures at local markets but craft the setting.

Lebanese assemble the nativity scene on the first of Advent in the best visible place of the house. Some Lebanese go as far as to dedicate an entire corner of the room for a life-sized nativity crib.

The flora surrounding Jesus’ manger is usually natural – lentils, oats, hay, chickpeas, and other plants. Lebanese don’t simply set up the nativity scene to look at it but pray in front of it throughout the Advent season.

Often, nativity scenes are set up on village roundabouts, in main town squares, and in other public places.

Dabkeh

Dabkeh is a traditional Lebanese dance performed on various joyous occasions, including weddings and Christmas. Perhaps, the name of the dance originated from the Levantine Arabic word for “stamping of the feet.”

Dabkeh is performed in a line, led by a leader standing on the right. As the name suggests, it involves a lot of foot stamping and noise. Lebanese typically dance dabkeh in native costumes or flamboyant party attires.

Lebanese dance to native tunes of darbouka, a traditional percussion instrument. People don’t dance dabkeh at home because it requires a lot of space, but public Christmas events aren’t complete without dancing.