Christmas in the Palestine Territories
Christmas is very important in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank as it contains Bethlehem, the town in which Jesus was born. Bethlehem is about six miles (10 kilometers) south of Jerusalem (which is in Israel). Bethlehem means 'house of bread' and back in history was famous for growing wheat for making into bread.
Only about 20% of Palestinians are Christian, but many Muslim Palestinians are also proud that Jesus was born in a Palestinian Territory!
On Christmas Eve there is a parade through the town. This is very important to the Christian part of the population. There are bagpipe bands in the parade, which you might not expect! Playing the bagpipes is a tradition left over from when the British army occupied the area between 1920 and 1948.
People also dress up as Santa Claus and give out sweets. The streets and main square are decorated with lights.
Perhaps the most famous part of Christmas in Bethlehem is the church service of the Mass of the Nativity. It is held on Christmas Eve afternoon/evening/midnight in the Church of the Nativity. The Church is built over the place where it's traditionally thought that Jesus was born. There's a small door into the Church called the door of humility. The church was built, by the romans, about 500 years after Jesus was born.
The most holy part of the church is the Grotto of the Nativity, which is under the main altar. A silver star marks the place where Jesus is said to have been born.
It had been prophesied in the Bible that the Jewish Messiah or Savior (who Christians believe Jesus is) would be born in Bethlehem.
The Church is administered by three churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Mass service is led by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Jerusalem. Many local political people go to the service, Christians, Muslims and Jews. The church is crowded and lots of frankincense, one of the gifts bought to the baby Jesus, is burnt. People also sing Christmas Carols on Christmas Eve evening in Manger Square, a large paved courtyard in front of the Church.
The Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches don't celebrate Christmas on December 25th, but rather January 6th & 7th. They hold services on those days.
The main celebration of Christmas in Palestine centers around a special meal. Although what is cooked varies from family to family and from year to year, what remains unchanged in the meal is the red meat, and lamb in particular. What really distinguishes festivities in Palestine, Christmas being one of the most important of them, besides the lamb is the value of the dish, the scarcity of the cooked ingredients, and the time consumed in its preparation and cooking.
Feasts in Palestine are also recognized by the high consumption of sweets, such as Kunafeh and Katayef. Fortunately for the Christians this year, Christmas coincides with the month of Ramadan, during which it is possible to buy Katayef from special shops that operate only during the month of Ramadan. Dried fruits, such as dates, apricots, raisins and prunes are popular during feasts. They are used for nibbling along with nuts, for cooking and for making drinks. Nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, pine nuts and pistachios, are also feast items. They are used for the preparation of dips, for stuffing meats, vegetables and Katayef, and for sprinkling over rice and drinks.
Katayef: (stuffed pancakes)
Pancakes:
8 cups water
Stuffing:
6 cups walnuts, chopped
Mix smeed, flour, and salt.
Place warm water in an electric mixing bowl (I use my blender). While mixing on high speed, add the smeed mixture gradually to form a thin pancake mix.
Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of water and a dash of sugar. Add to pancake mixture, and mix for 1 more minute. Set aside for 40 minutes, stirring every 7 minutes (so the water won't separate from smeed to avoid a lumpy mixture).
Add the baking soda and keep stirring. When the dough bubbles, it is ready to be baked.
Use an electric frying pan set at 450 degrees (I use one of those flat frying pans, for pancakes, but I do believe any nonstick frying pan should work).
Pour 1/4 cup dough and cook like a pancake, on one side only. Remove from fire when pores form on the surface on each cake. Place the pancakes on a smooth surfaced towel until they cool.
Fill each pancake with the nut mixture (I place one spoonful of the mixture in the middle of the pancake).
Fold by pressing edges together to make a semi-circle. Pinch the edges firmly to close. Brush each on both sides with warm butter.
Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until light gold.
Remove from oven and dip in cold syrup (Thin Attar).
Makes about 35 pieces. Enjoy!
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