Holiday of Holidays

When I first heard that Haifa celebrates the “Holiday of Holidays” in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I assumed it meant that Christmas was the holiday of all holidays. In this country that seemed a bit of a stretch, and as it turned out, that is not at all what the phrase is meant to convey. What it means is, that in Haifa, the three last weeks of December is the Holiday that celebrates all three holidays: Christmas, Hannukah, and Ramadan —

—just as you can see here in this beautiful display of a Christmas tree, a Hannukiah, and a crescent moon and star above a lantern.

Now it is well known that Christmas and Hannukah often coincide, but Ramadan? Yes, I learned that Ramadan moves back every year by some 11 days; and every few decades it falls in the same general period as Christmas and Hannukah. So Haifa, which is home to all three of the Abrahamic faiths, decided to call this period “Holiday of Holidays” and to honour them all at the same time. An uplifting and admirable story that you will never see in the international press.

Just last week I was invited to join a small group of women on a day trip to Haifa, on Saturday, where we would see the Holiday of Holidays’ festivities first hand. The main attraction was a guided tour of Wadi Nisnas, a mixed neighbourhood noted for its winding streets, colourful market, and a plethora of hummus and falafel places, each claiming to be the best in Israel. (Some likely are.) This was to be followed by lunch, a Christmas parade, and a museum visit.

This neighbourhood of about 8,000 residents, is home to many Christian families and has a number of very pretty churches. One of them was piping out a bevy of familiar Christmas carols all in Arabic — a first for me. Our guide introduced himself as a Muslim Palestinian, originally from a village slightly north of Haifa, and he presented a narrative that simultaneously spoke to the friendly coexistence of Jewish and Arab residents in this particular community, while making it very clear that the Nakba (disaster), as the founding of the state of Israel is called by the Palestinian community, is still keenly felt. He was walking fine line, sometimes uneasily.

On our tour we saw several public art installations by Jewish and Arab artists scattered through the streets in the neighbourhood’s “Museum Without Walls”. We walked through the market, tables piled high with Christmas decorations and toys. Everything was colourful, glittery, and definitely more “Walmart” than “Hallmark”.

In Wadi Nisnas, Santa Claus lives in a fancifully decorated house up a steep hill at 6 Hadad street, and since every child who comes to see him gets a present, the lineup stretched several blocks. We gave up on getting close; and such is the ferocity with which places in line are guarded, that even trying to cross over it from one side to the other required some negotiation.

It’s a heart-warming story really. The Santa who lives in the house started the tradition many years ago with just 4 presents, and now it’s a year-long project to ensure there are over 4,000 gifts available, some for the visiting children, and some for residents in need.

In general, our day was a classic example of under-planning. Take our “you’re on your own” lunch. It was on the tour schedule; but on the busiest Saturday of the year, it would have taken a proverbial Hannukah miracle to find a restaurant, or to work your way to the front of a long line-up at the many take-out stalls. (As a result, I was unable to do the necessary research to recommend the best hummus or falafel in Israel. Maybe next time.)

Then it turned out that the museum visit scheduled at 5:00 would not work because the museum closes at 4:00 on Saturdays. Going earlier was possible, except that it would conflict with the Christmas parade which was supposed to go from 3:30-5:00.

As it turned out, the museum was a modest little venue, so we left just in time to see the “piece de resistance”, the Christmas parade!!

It began with its star attraction, a thoroughly one of a kind Santa:

Santa driving a golf cart, Christmas tree on the back, elf of honour at his side, cigarette on the other side). Honestly it was worth the trip for this alone. (In the absence of reindeer, there was a drone flitting over the crowd, a security precaution I assumed.)

Following behind was a series of deafening drum bands, each playing with an unfortunate level of enthusiasm. There were children, teens, and young men, all in various scout-type uniforms. There were even a few bagpipers which felt incongruous in a charming sort of way. It is possible they were actually piping, but nothing could be heard over the drums. A scant 20 minutes later the 90 minute parade was over. This was a mercy really.

Except we had a lot of time to kill before the bus was due to pick us up. So we headed over to the German colony, one of my favourite spots in Haifa; a wide street, lined with red-roofed buildings, running about 6 blocks up to the foot of the glorious Bahai gardens. It was beautifully lit and decorated for the season, and had been closed to traffic for the day. So there were people. Lots of people. Masses of people. I did not know Haifa had this many people. But it does. And they were all there.

And this is why, much as there is both charm and inspiring symbolism in the Holiday of Holidays, I do not recommend going on a Saturday.

And to conclude this post on the holiday season I leave you with the 2022 Guinness World of Records Title holder of the biggest lego menorah ever built. Right here in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Centre! Dozens of volunteers. 130,000 lego bricks!

Happiest of Holidays to all!