Christmas in the old city of Homs My windy city, Homs, is known for its two famous religious sites: the Mosque of Khaled Ibn Alwaleed, a legendary Muslim hero who chose to live and die in Homs, not MECCA or Medina, and gave it his name, and the church of Our Lady of the Belt, where myth has it that the belt of Virgin Mary is buried deep under its ground. Homs main Mosque ( The big Mosque) used to be a church and before that a Roman temple. In Homs we have Orthodox, Armenian, Maronite, Catholic and Anglican Christians who lived for two thousand years. All preserved their rituals, culture and languages. The old city of Homs has two christian neighborhoods of Bostan Aldewan and Alhamedeyya hugging the mixed neighborhoods of Bab Todmor ( Palmyra Gate) and Bab Alsibaa (The Lions Gate). Church of Our Lady of the Belt, an Orthodox Church, leans on the historic Mosque of Abo Alhol, a Muslim saint. We have fusion Muslim-Christian religious holiday of Sweet Thursday, a unique holiday for Homs where all people celebrate by cooking special Homsi sweets. During Christmas, muslim families visit the churches and their christian neighborhoods. During Eid, christian families visit their muslim neighbors. Some Muslim families have Christmas trees in their houses. My uncle sent his children to learn at private Christian school, as many Muslim families do. The sound of Muslim call for prayer intermix with the sound of churches bells. Local TV airs Christian songs. Some Christian women name their male child, Mohammad, if God blessed them with a child after long wait. Muslim women and men pray at the historic blessed site of Our Lady of the Belt church seeking cure from their illnesses. Eisa, Jesus, is s common Muslim name.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:34:56 +0000
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