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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Volunteers serve free meals to attendees of Hajj Zarief’s Christmas event in the village of Al-Sherif, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
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Sheikhs in attendance spoke of Jesus’s humanity and the recent words of an advisor to Egypt’s Grand Mufti: “Celebrating the birth of Christ is a respite in a new year of high prices, calamities, and inflation.” In Al-Sherif, Egypt. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)