For nearly half a century in the village of Al-Sherif, 120 kilometers south of Cairo, Muslim and Christian neighbors have marked the birth of Jesus with a five-day-long, open-door celebration that began on January 2, ahead of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christmas on the 7th. Photojournalist Hamada Elrasam has the story. Captions by Elle Kurancid.
Christmas in Egyptian Village Fosters Message of Christian-Muslim Values
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A Christian girl named Nijjar, 15, decorates her family home on Coptic Christmas Eve in Cairo, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
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Hajj Zarief, 80, founded his Christmas event on Jan. 2, 1974. “That morning, my uncle had a dream: he saw people from around the world coming into my home and Jesus, inside with a water pail, filling their cups.” In Al-Sherif, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
![Since his uncle’s decades-old dream, Hajj Zarief says, “I’ve asked my friends and neighbors to join me in celebrating the birth of Jesus with Zikr [Islamic dance ritual] and free meals and tea for all.” Al-Sherif, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/03370000-0aff-0242-6371-08daf3352f97_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Since his uncle’s decades-old dream, Hajj Zarief says, “I’ve asked my friends and neighbors to join me in celebrating the birth of Jesus with Zikr [Islamic dance ritual] and free meals and tea for all.” Al-Sherif, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
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“For us Muslims, we also love Jesus and respect him as a messenger of God,” says Hajj Zarief, in the farming village of Al-Sherif, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)