This is the blog that will sort out for you between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, what is the connection between Hanukkah, Christmas and any Muslim holiday, so before you pack up and head your way abroad, i.e. to Haifa, get the best recommendations for what to see and what to do during the holidays, Christmas , Hanukkah – in the city of Haifa!
Start by finding a parking space – what’s so great about Haifa that it has public transportation on weekends and holidays, did we mention coexistence? If you chose to arrive by train, the nearest station is Haifa Center Hashmona – less than a 15-minute walk from there and you are already in the heart of the German colony where you can admire the huge fir tree that the Haifa municipality puts up every year (except this year due to the war). If you chose to arrive by private car, along Haganim Street and Mordechai Anilwitz Street you will find parking lots. You can also park in the Hamona center train parking lot or in one of the private and super expensive parking lots on Kadushi Street in Baghdad.
If you were going to be real partygoers and book a night in Haifa – I recommend these hotels – Schumacher , Botanika or Colony , these are the three best hotels located right in the German colony. If you prefer to breathe the air of the peaks and get the most beautiful view in Israel from your room window, I would recommend hotels in Carmel, and to get to the holiday events you can take a Carmelite from the center of Carmel and get off at the last stop of Paris Square, from where you are in the center of the sights within a 3-5 minute walk.
Recommended hotels in Carmel: Carmel , Bay View Hotel and Dan Carmel , which of course is known to everyone. Of course, there are many cool guest rooms at Air B&B for lovers of the genre.
The sites and people we will visit
30 years ago the municipality of Haifa decided to celebrate the holidays, which holidays are included and why? Hanukkah, Christmas and the Muslim holiday, as you know, each current and religion has a different calendar, the Muslim calendar is based on the moon, so the dates of the Muslim holidays compared to the foreign calendar come out on completely different dates. So if you remember the longest holiday – Ramadan, you remember it sometimes in the summer, sometimes in the winter, sometimes in the spring. Every year the Muslim holidays are celebrated in a different season.
And yet the Haifa municipality, as an act of solidarity, also placed the Islamic crescent along with the Christmas tree and Hanukkah because once every 13 years – Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Peter will be celebrated in the same time as Christmas and Hanukkah.
The various churches in Haifa and their Christmas celebration
The people who make our holiday
Hatkals corner – summary of the fun round for the whole family and what to eat at the end of the round
What churches are there in Haifa and what is their uniqueness?
What is beautiful in Haifa is that there is everything from everything and everyone is together without getting in the way. Or as I usually say on my tours in Haifa – let’s say that Jesus was not here. It means that the place is beautiful and inclusive and not loaded with the sediments of religion and quarrels. The great Haifa writer – Sami Michael – describes my feelings well: “Down below, below the plane, white houses were lined up like a flock of herons on the slope of a mountain whose dome is covered with green forests and whose feet are dipped in sparkling water. A magical city like an innocent girl who grew up naked in the lap of a monster. Happy, I said in my heart… Happy is he who found a home in a magical city And this illusion… the first piece of land I land on is fresh and pure, young and clean of any demanding history. I loved Haifa then, and half a century later I remain faithful to this love” from the story: “My first day in Israel was my first day in Haifa “
Let’s start from the beginning, for those who want to experience Christmas it is recommended to go to the churches, there are many sects and religions in the city. The first to celebrate are the Catholics, on 25.12 the celebration is in full swing. Usually the date comes out a few days after the eighth and last candle (sometimes at the same time as last year and then the celebration is in full swing) on 24.12 on Christmas Eve a festive mass will be held in the churches and also on the morning of 25.12 there will be a holiday mass. What do our Christian friends celebrate? Of course the hand of Jesus, and yes I write Jesus and not Jesus. For some of you it bothers a little. I understand, we are not used to calling him by his Hebrew, Jewish name – Jesus. But Jesus, a derogatory name given to him in the past – the initials of the words May his name and memory perish.
A few words about that man, a righteous warrior, in the name of Jesus, born as a Jew, lived and preached as a Jew, died and was buried as a Jew.
Why do we already see lights and decorations from the beginning of the month? Because of waiting for the birth of the baby, the savior, the Messiah. These days of waiting are called Advent or in Hebrew expectation, they have symbols, colors (green and red) and are a kind of table of despair where every Sunday of the week they light a candle to mark that they are getting closer to the date of birth. And if you happened to be abroad during this period and you went into a cool Flying Tiger style store, you surely found there the wooden figures from the birth scene and the beautiful Advent decorations.
The first church we will visit is the St. Joseph’s Latin Church which is located at 78 Sderot Maginim St. next to the offices of the Latin Catholic Church, on the other side the Carmel School which is the school of the Catholic community in the city.
Who is Joseph and why is there a church named after him? Joseph is the father of Jesus, we hear about him several times in the New Testament, among other things we know that Jesus the child and the boy – learns from him the carpentry trade that was the source of the family’s livelihood.
The church was designed by Berluzzi, an Italian architect who designed other important churches, he did not get to see the church because he died before its construction was completed in 1961, on the door of the church you can see Joseph the father embracing the child Jesus, a relatively rare image because most churches always deal only with the mature Jesus.
At the entrance to the church you will see the Carmelite symbol, the Carmelites, whose center is in Stella Maris in the French Carmel neighborhood, belong to the Catholic community and therefore their symbol appears here, the symbol looks like a large cross coming out of a triangle which is Mount Carmel with 3 stars on its side, each star is for a different patron of the church, Elijah the Prophet , Elisha Ozero and Maria.
Also at the entrance you can see beautiful stained glass windows, one of which has a picture taken from the Old Testament (the Bible) crossing the Red Sea, Moses with the staff in his hand, what is the connection? The connection is that the entire New Testament is actually based on the Old Testament, on the stories of the Bible, and in terms of Christianity Moses He is a figure that came to hint to us about Jesus, because throughout their lives the above mentioned pass the same stations.
If you arrived before 12.25 and outside you were privileged to see the nativity scene in the small cave, with the bull, the donkey, the Amaguses, Miriam and Joseph and the little Jesus, know that this is a display for the “tourists” that we are. If you enter quietly and respectfully into the church (men are asked to enter without a head covering) you will be able to see the same birth scene only without the baby, because he will only be born on 12.25 so his crib is empty and waiting only for him.
The second church we will visit is the Elijah the Prophet Cathedral at 23 Ein Dor Street , why a cathedral and not a church? A cathedral is a church where the bishop sits. Why Elijah the prophet? After all, he is the number of kings with us, he is ours 🙂 What’s the connection? For those who live in Haifa and those who don’t, in a short stroll in Haifa you can find a large number of churches and synagogues named after Elijah the Prophet. So what brings him here?
Let’s start by saying that Elijah the prophet is a prophet who is holy to all monotheistic religions, he is holy to Muslims, Christians, Druzes and also to us Jews.
Why in Haifa, the city of Carmel, do we find many religious institutions named after him? For those who remember that dear old man, whom we wait for and still tell our children solemnly about on Seder night, he brought about the death (or in the biblical language, “And Elijah will come down to the brook Kishon and be slaughtered there” Kings chapter 3) of 450 prophets of Baal and Ashra. And what is the connection to Haifa? As written in the Bible, this happened in the Kishon stream at the foot of Mount Carmel and from that moment Carmel itself was sanctified, see the entry of the Carmelite Order in my other post, and Haifa, which is naturally linked to Mount Carmel, takes upon itself to be the city of Elijah the prophet.
Outside the church there is a sign that says Melchite Church, the Melchites are the largest Christian movement in Haifa and in Israel in general. I won’t go into many explanations about them because it’s a bit complicated (for more, you are invited to my tour), but the same royal current that now rules most of the Middle East was originally Orthodox, this is why when you enter this church, unlike the previous church, you will see a beautiful iconostasis that is a stone between the worshipers and the altar. While in the previous church the altar is visible to the worshipers. There are many other Orthodox signs in the church (and again for the expansion you are invited to the tour, I don’t want to burden you here:) but today the church is considered Catholic. What it means? This means that they receive the Pope’s patronage over them, they can pray in Arabic (the local language), their spiritual leaders can be Arabs (and do not have to be Greeks) and regarding the current post – they will celebrate the Catholic Christmas on 25.12 and not the Orthodox Christmas that celebrates it on 7.1 .
In most years outside the church you will find a huge and beautiful lit fir tree, on some evenings you can enjoy an amazing concert in the church, to keep up to date with the concert dates and in general the holiday events, it is recommended to visit the website of Beit Hagen.
The third church we will visit will be the Church of Yohanan the Baptist located at 3 Persimim Street in Haifa, and the name of the street has a whole story that I usually tell on some of the tours.
This church is the pride of the Greek Orthodox community in the city, because it was built with the money of the people of the community and not with the money of the Patriarch!
The community numbers about 6000 people in Haifa, and for years they have been looking for a suitable place to rebuild their church, this church was only built in 2010 after they went out to tender regarding the identity of the architect, the competition was anonymous and the one who was chosen was a young architect named Maha Belan, many eyebrows raised after The understanding that the choice is up to the girl and one who doesn’t have much experience. But the result is amazing! Your eyes see, the church with a high ceiling, the huge iconostasis that may exist was supposed to be in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and it didn’t fit in size so it came here, there are concerts here from time to time, and the community center of the congregation is under the church on the first floors.
At the entrance on the right there is a beautiful baptismal basin above which a glass roof is open to the sky – the architecture literally tells the story of John the Baptist, the spirituality of baptism, and tries to bring the worshipers into the atmosphere of the story of the new covenant.
Baptism is one of the seven central sacraments in Christianity, its purpose is always the same whether it is done to a newborn baby or to an adult person – the ceremony is designed to establish the person’s identity as a Christian.
Since the church is Greek Orthodox here they will celebrate the holiday on 7.1, the eve of the holiday is on 6.1. So the city of Haifa got a few more days of holiday.
There are many other churches in the city of Haifa, the fourth church is the Armenian Church – St. Eliyahu on Hana Nakara Road which faces Khouri Street . The church is humble, special, and celebrates Christmas last. Thanks to her, the city of Haifa gets to celebrate the holiday until January 19 every year! The visit there is by prior arrangement, the Armenian community is very small in Israel and in Haifa in general, Pastor Diyar Hobkimian, unlike other churches, is part of the community, he is married with children and the most important thing for him in his role is to unite, consolidate and ensure harmony within his community. At the entrance to the cute church you will see an impressive khachkar made of stone with a relief of a decorated Armenian cross which mainly symbolizes the national religious identity of the Armenians. In Armenian the meaning of the word is: khach – cross, ker – stone.
Our number 5 church for today, a beautiful old and special one that is beautifully lit up at Christmas and in general the nicest religious man in Haifa – Father Joseph Yaakov, is here, is the Church of Saint Louis , Saint Louis, which is the Maronite Church. and is located in front of Paris Square on Rubin Alley Street.
The church is almost always open, community events are held there in addition to prayers.
The Maronite community originates from Maron in Lebanon.
The Maronites are members of the Armenian nationality, so it is also written on their identity card under nationality, the prayer until a few years ago was in Aramaic and most of the members of the community are known to read and write Aramaic, but today, unfortunately for Yusuf, most of the young people do not know Aramaic but you can still see in the church on the altar and The paintings around are written in Aramaic.
In Haifa there are about 4,000 Maronites, and in Israel as a whole there are about 10,000 Maronites. Many of them came after the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, families who served in the South Lebanon Army, the Israel Defense Forces.
One of the places that the majority of the public knows and directly associates with the Maronites are the lands of Ikarit and Bir’am about which there is a complete and deep story, but beyond this story there are other communities in Israel.
The clergy in the church can marry, unlike in other Catholic churches, the monks and bishops have to remain celibate.
The community is strong, educated and among the Maronites in the world there is also one of the people who won the title of the second richest person in the world after Bill Gates, until 2015. Carlos Slim from Mexico.
Here in Israel, in the Maronite community of Haifa, famous members such as Yosef Sweid, former Supreme Court judge Salim Jubran and more.
There are other churches throughout Haifa and I did not list in this post all the currents and denominations that exist in the city.
The people who make the holiday and Haifa for us
In Haifa there are many good people, as in any city, there are the famous, the darlings of the city and there are the colorful and beautiful “types” that you would like to meet and they in return will always be happy to welcome you, sit with you over a cup of tea or coffee and talk.
So in the spirit of the holiday we will start with the Haifa Santa Claus, who as a local patriot arrived long before the Jerusalem Santa Claus, something like 34 years before him.
So Nikola Abdo is a dear person, who did not choose to be Santa Claus, for many years he was an ordinary person, although his name is Nikola exactly like the name Saint Nicholas after the holy Nicholas of Mira in the area of Turkey today (with the same saint’s name the tradition of Santa Claus began).
Nikola also has a really long beard that just happens to be Santa Claus’s (and no it’s not a fake! It’s his real beard)
Nikola married his wife and the two tried to have a child, when they saw that it was not successful, Nikola vowed to donate, donate, help and volunteer in children’s sections in hospitals, and the couple definitely had 3 children.
From then until today, not only does he volunteer in hospitals, he has a Santa Claus scooter and it is full of candy for the holidays and he rides it and makes the city’s children happy. In addition many children and also their parents come to his living room which is open throughout the holiday and there he welcomes anyone who wants to receive a gift or a blessing from him.
Of course, it is customary to leave a donation for sick children and take into account that Nikola is not always at home to welcome you, but if you passed by his house and saw him sitting on the balcony and received his blessing – the profit is all yours.
The next woman you should get to know is Fatma Shahada, who is in the market in Wadi Nisnas, her stall is called Albit Bitek, translated to Hebrew – the house your home. Fatma sits for hours at the booth and her hands are always busy – rolling, mixing, frying or cooking, working vigorously on all the wonderful delicacies of Arab cuisine.
So far it sounds pretty “normal” to you, but what you didn’t know about Fatma is that she is also a certified medic and an ambulance driver and is currently graduating as a paramedic. No wonder if you talk to her she will tell you that she didn’t sleep all night because she was rolling vine leaves or she was on duty.
I recommend you talk to her about life, about Haifa and her vine leaf refrigerator! And if you want something really delicious and unique that is only available at her place – try the moajnat, thank me.
One of my favorite people in Wadi Nisnas is Mustafa Aradat, whose coffee has gone far and wide and even more so his paradise candy which is the most delicious in Israel, and I have tasted those in other mixed cities, believe me. It’s the most fun to meet Mustafa on a rainy day, in the middle of the week, there are no people in the market, everything is empty, and Mustafa sits and waits for someone to enter the small shop in the alley near Huadi Street (by the way, very close to Fatma, on Google from zero ‘Cafe Haifa’), on such days Mustafa has time to chat and he is one Such that if he has time he likes to talk about the situation, the country and most importantly about the coffee and the tahini.
Mustafa patiently explains endlessly about the carob honey and the olive oil from his olives in the Shamsk Galilee, and the visit to the small shop takes the visitor back 80 years, the small room filled to the brim with bags of coffee, containers of tahini and oil, one of a kind and an extinct breed nowadays.
Hatkals Corner Summary of your tour for the holiday in Haifa
You did not come now to meet people, nor to delve too much into the small details, it is clear, you are with children, or not, and you wanted to feel the festivities of another holiday. Here is the perfect round for you –
Camping on one of the side streets in the German colony, we walk towards the huge fir tree at the corner of Ben Gurion streets – we protect ourselves, of course we take pictures next to the tree, the crescent moon and the beautiful menorah.
Continue on Meginiim Street, stop at St. Joseph’s Church, continue through the cute shops that sell Christmas decorations and trees, at the next square turn right onto Ein Dor Street, where you enter the Elijah the Prophet Cathedral, from there continue either up Huadi Street to meet the dear people I mentioned above or cross in the direction of Ma’ala the road and walk on Allenby Street (in the direction of Ben Gurion Boulevard) and there at the first left turn onto Persimim Street you enter the Greek Orthodox Church.
From there continue on Allenby back to Ben Gurion Boulevard and walk along the street between the bright and festive cafes and restaurants.
Must end with food!
If you really want to eat at a restaurant, I recommend walking to Hamanal Street and eating there at one of the following excellent restaurants: Rasif 33, Lux , Neopolitan , Chang Ba , Bar Yam , and more. It’s worth getting updated and making a reservation beforehand.
If you want something lighter, there is pizza and knapa right next to each other and close to all the holiday lights and they are excellent!!!
The pizza is called La Casa and for dessert the best knapa in town at Allenby 12 at Martin ‘s Star Suite .
May we all have a Happy holiday!
