I. Christmas on Israeli postal issue

CHRISTMAS – A HOLIDAY OF HOLIDAYS

Yet again, a previous month’s post has offered a convenient segue into the next. In November, mosaics were featured in the yearly exploration of the art, artwork, and design theme, and one of the 5th century mosaics described was the ‘loaves and fishes’ piece that lies in front of the altar in the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee.

This variable value stamp – 1.10 NIS –  sold from a vending machine first came out on 16 November 1996. It is illustrated with the ‘loaves and fishes’ mosaic in the Church of Multiplication at Tabgha, and with the seasonal wish ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’. The number/code 023 indicates a dispensing machine in Tel Aviv

Variable value stamp franked with a Nazareth postmark on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1996, and showing holly berries and leaves

 

The mosaic – one of a number in the Church of the Multiplication – depicted two fish flanking a basket containing four loaves of bread, and it was illustrated on an ATM postage stamp issued on 16 November 1996 (ATMs are self-adhesive variable value stamps issued from automatic self-service vending machines or from counter machines in post offices). Included in the design of the stamp was the Christmas wish: ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’.

2.00 Israeli Pounds stamp illustrated with Coral Island in the 1971-78 Landscapes series  franked with a Bethlehem postmark, Christmas Eve, 24 December 1974

 

The Declaration of Israeli Independence in 1948 described the country as a Jewish state, but it also stated that it would guarantee religious freedoms and freedom of conscience, language, education and culture to all citizens, and would ensure complete equality of social and political rights irrespective of religion, race or sex. This was important in a country with great diversification of cultures and tradition. Today, around 2% of the total population of Israel – circa 177,000 people – are adherents of the Christian religion (in 2019). Moslems accounted for 17.8% of the population (2019).

The term for a Christian in modern Hebrew is Notzri – or ‘follower of the Nazarene’ – plural Notzrim.

Variable value stamp – 1.30 NIS – first issued on 16 November 1993. It was printed by Glilon of Tel Aviv and designed by Yitzhak Granot. Illustrated with a Bethlehem skyline and the seasonal wish ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’, the stamp is franked here with a Bethlehem postmark and the first date of issue. The motif includes the decorative star in the Church of the Nativity designated as the site of Jesus’s brithplace

 

Although the ‘Christmas story’ took place in what is now modern Israel, and modern Palestine – Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem of Judea – Christmas is not widely celebrated in the country other than among the small Christian population. Christmas is not a public holiday in Israel (Hanukkah is not a national holiday either for that matter though it is a Jewish festival and holiday period for people), and for the majority of Israelis it is a normal working day. Even in Jerusalem, you would be unlikely to see many (or any) signs of Christmas, unless you specifically went to the Old City ‘tourist’ areas, or areas with churches in them.

Self-adhesive Christmas vending-machine stamp – 2.50 NIS – issued 25 November 2018 and designed by Anis Kadis, bringing together various symbolic seasonal elements: the manger, snow, trees, and star. The number/code 00001 indicates issuing/dispensing by the philatelic service

 

Indeed, in the history of postal issue in Israel, the word ‘Christmas’ has never been printed on a postage stamp, nor the greeting ‘Merry Christmas’, though these have occurred on postmarks/franking, stationery, the range of Simon’s Maximum Cards, and special First Day Leafs. The more universal ‘Season’s Greetings’ has appeared regularly though on Israeli stamp output.

Variable value stamp – 1.15 NIS – issued 16 November 1998, printed by Pitkit (Caesarea Industrial Park)  and designed by Y. Gabay. It is illustrated with birds featured on ancient mosaics, and the seasonal wish ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’. The stamp here is franked with a Nazareth postmark and the first date of issue. Part of the motif shows the Basilica of the Annunciation, in Nazareth

 

Christmas services and activities are of course held in the Christian churches of Israel, the most famous of these being the carol concerts and services held at the Dormition Abbey (a Benedictine Monastery) on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. The YMCA in Jerusalem also holds a Christmas bazaar as well as a Christmas Eve carol concert.

Variable value stamp – 1.10 NIS – first issued on 19 November 1997 and illustrated with a view of the Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, and the seasonal wish ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’. The stamp here is franked with a Nazareth postmark and the first date of issue… again the motif shows part of the Basilica, Nazareth

 

The largest Christian population in Israel is in Nazareth (the town where Jesus grew up). Nazareth has lots of Christmas lights on the streets and outdoor markets to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. There is a Christmas Eve parade which ends at the Church (or Basilica) of the Annunciation, a firework display, and midnight mass.

A special cover in a special year, 1967 (a few months after the Six Day War which saw the divided city of Jerusalem united once more, and Jews able to visit the Western Wall again after many years). The 12 Agorot stamp on the cover is one of five designed by E. Weishoff and issued for Jewish New Year 5728, showing Torah scrolls. The cover is illustrated with a drawing of the Church (or Basilica) of the Annunciation, in Nazareth, and a profile drawing of Pope Paul VI. The stamp is franked with a Nazareth postmark, dated Christmas Eve, 24 December 1967

 

At major Christian places of worship in Jerusalem, Christmas can ‘last’ for up to three weeks, because Roman Catholic and Protestants celebrate the festival on 25 December, Orthodox Christians celebrate on 6 January, and Armenian Christians on 19 January.

Postmark dated Christmas Eve, 24 December 1975,  Bethlehem, and franking a 0.30 Agorot stamp illustrated with En Avedat in the 1971-78 Landscapes series

 

Just over the border, in Bethlehem in Palestine (in the West Bank), more Christmas celebrations take place than in much of Israel.

3.10 NIS stamp with tab, designed by L. Perez, and issued on 3 December 2013 to mark the annual  ‘Holiday of Holidays’ festival in Haifa. The stamp features a motif representing ‘light’ across the major religions in the city: the Hanukkah menorah symbolizing the miracle of the oil; the Christmas tree form, representing the light brought to the world by the birth of Jesus; and, the lamp used by Muslims in the early days of Islam and which became a symbol of Ramadan

 

Celebrating the diversity of Haifa – Jewish, Moslem, Christian, Druze, Baha’i – the annual ‘Holiday of Holidays’ is held in the city in December (it had been annual anyway until Covid-19 made its presence during 2020). During the holiday elaborate illuminations and decorations enhance the city’s places of worship and religious gathering, including the Baha’i Temple.

The ‘Holiday of Holidays’ festival was founded in 1994 by Beit Ha-Gefen (the Arab-Jewish Cultural Centre), the Haifa Municipality, and the Wadi Nisnas (formerly mixed Arab and Jewish) neighbourhood of Haifa, as a multi-cultural celebration of the neighbourly relations that exist within Haifa’s diverse population.

Variable value stamp, issued for 2.40 NIS on 26 November 2009 from a ‘Doarmat’ machine, and illustrated with Santa Claus being pulled by two reindeer, and the seasonal wish ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’. The number/code 001 indicates that the stamp was dispensed in Jaffa. If it had been 004, dispensing  would have occurred in Carmel, 006 Haifa, 008 Natanya, 010 Jerusalem, 011 Rehovot, 012 Beersheva, 013 Eilat, 015 Nazareth, 018 Ashdod, and 023 Tel Aviv

 

In a normal year (without Covid-19), the festival would be held over the weekends of December in galleries and public areas throughout the Wadi Nisnas neighbourhood, the German Colony and the Lower City of Haifa. There would be art exhibitions, movies, concerts (classical Arabic music, world music, traditional Jewish music, and Jewish music with a fusion of Western and Eastern styles), theatre, dance, circus, acrobatics, and street performances, antiques fairs, walking tours, and conferences. There would be a wide array of foods based on local Mediterranean cuisine, al fresco fare in Wadi Nisnas, children’s activities, and a Christmas parade (with Santa Claus).

Variable value stamp, issued for 2.50 NIS on 26 November 2019 from an Inbar machine, and illustrated with Santa Claus being pulled by a set of reindeer, uttering the well-known ‘Ho ho ho’, and the seasonal wish ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’. The number/code 00001 indicates that the stamp was issued/dispensed by the philatelic service

 

More than likely, a stranger to Haifa during the ‘Holiday of Holidays’ would be greeted with a hearty.. MERRY CHRISTMAS – CHAG MOLAD SAMEACH !!!! חג מולד שמח

In the construction of this month’s post, the following sources were used: (1) Barry Davis, ‘Being different in Haifa‘, Jerusalem Post, 18 December 2014; (2) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation; and (3) the website of Ateeme, the place for those interested in variable value stamps, ATMs

A further look at Christmas on Israeli postal output will be taken this time next year… 2021!!!

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