Christmas in Damascus is different this year, after al-Assad’s fall

Damascus, Syria – There’s something different about Christmas this year, Damascenes say.

Although the decorations may have been more elaborate last year, Carol al-Sahhaf says this year’s festive mood is a cut above, less than two weeks after Bashar al-Assad fled and his regime crumbled.

On either side of the biblical Street Called Straight – or al-Mustaqeem or just Straight Street for short – lights and Christmas trees adorn the cafes, restaurants, shops and homes of Bab Sharqi, the neighbourhood nestled up to the Eastern Gate of the ancient Old City.

The alleyways around Straight Street are bustling, with a spring-like feeling in the air as shopkeepers repaint, dust off their shelves, and hang the green, white and black Free Syria flag.

Lights, cookies, and optimism

Al-Assad fled on December 8, and the country erupted into jubilation that lasted for days as Syrians celebrated the fall of the al-Assad family and the end of more than 50 years of brutal rule.

As those celebrations calmed, Olga al-Muuti told Al Jazeera, everyone turned to preparing for Christmas, New Year’s and Orthodox Christmas.

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“I expect the festivities to return to their full vibrancy in the coming days,” the 29-year-old said as she put together cookie-decorating kits in the back room of her eponymous bakery.

“After 14 years of war, I hope the coming year brings us peace, love, and the chance to live with dignity.”

From Olga’s shop, a four-minute stroll down Straight Street leads to the exuberant lights of Bab Touma Street, named for another ancient gate that sat in the Old City’s walls.

Admiring the lights as he strolled around his neighbourhood with two friends was Akop Safarian, 72, bundled up against the chilly night air and full of cheer.

He and his neighbours had all decorated their houses and the street they lived on, he said, as they do every year, only this year he did it with a special prayer in mind.

“I hope peace prevails in Syria and the world in the coming year,” Safarian said with a huge smile.

‘We, as Syrians’

“We’re a little apprehensive about the coming phase,” al-Shahhaf said as she browsed a small handicrafts stall in a cafe in the Old City’s Qishleh.

However, she added, she is immensely happy about all the changes in Syria.

“I’m sure that we, as Syrians of all backgrounds, can prove to the world that we are a people who love peace,” the 28-year-old from Jaramana said.

“The horrifying scenes we saw in Assad’s prisons … we should be in mourning really, in solidarity with the families of detainees who were killed in prisons and with the families of those whose fate remains unknown,” Carol said.

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Rawad Diop, who hails originally from Safita near Tartous, is just plain happy.

“Alongside Christmas celebrations, I see smiles on people’s faces that I hadn’t seen before.” the 42-year-old said.

“Personally, I’m very happy and feel an inner optimism for the future.”