- Title: Christmas celebrations in Damascus bring holiday cheer to Syrians
- Date: 21st December 2017
- Summary: VIEW OF CELEBRATION / PEOPLE STANDING AROUND CHRISTMAS TREE / FIREWORKS SHOOTING OUT OF OVERLOOKING BALCONY MORE OF FIREWORKS SHOOTING OUT OF OVERLOOKING BALCONY VARIOUS OF SCOUTS PLAYING MUSIC FOR THE CROWD ON DRUMS AND TRUMPETS
- Embargoed: 4th January 2018 13:20
- Keywords: Christmas celebrations in Syria Christmas in Syria Syrian Christmas Chrismas in Damascus holiday season in Syria holiday season in Arab world
- Location: DAMASCUS, SYRIA
- City: DAMASCUS, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0077CUVFX1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Syrians in Damascus have been marking the Christmas season in the streets of the city in a sign that residents were in the mood for festivities after several years of conflict.
People gathered around a 17-metre Christmas tree in a celebration on Qassa' street, where a man in a Santa Klaus suit proved popular as children and adults rushed to be photographed with him.
Pierre Salameh, who organised the celebration, said the aim was to send a "good message about Damascus" and life in the capital.
As the Syrian government has pushed back rebel factions in western Syria, shoring up its rule over the main urban centres, a variety of exhibitions and festivals have sprung up around the country, including a chocolate exhibition held in Damascus earlier this month.
Elsewhere in the city, the lighting of a 20-metre Christmas tree took place by the Holy Cross Church, as people applauded and fireworks shot into the sky.
Many Syrian Christians supported the government in the civil war, viewing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a member of a Shi'ite-derived minority sect, as a protector against rebel fighters mainly drawn from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority.
Although some Christians stayed on the sidelines of the civil war, many saw the rise of Islamic State and other Sunni Muslim insurgent groups as a threat to the very existence of their communities. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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