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Diyar Christmas Activities Write Up

Christmas Craft Workshop

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons in December, a group of fifteen eager children aged 5 to 12 gather in an art room in the Diyar Academy to make Christmas craft projects. Each day, the group of children and the crafts vary. One day, the children may make glittery snowmen and snow-women. The next, they create ornaments in the shapes of trees and stars. The day after that, it might be Santa Claus or one of his reindeer.

Regardless of the craft, these children spend an hour laughing and crafting with their friends, whom they greet with exuberance and excitement. Some of them are friends from before, while others have just met in this classroom for the afternoon. Under the supportive guidance of art students from the Dar al Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, the children design small treasures they can bring home to share with their family and friends.

While this is the first year Diyar has hosted Christmas craft workshops, Director Rami Khader hopes that it will continue in future years. Additionally, he outlined a vision of craft workshops held monthly for an expanded group of children for all ages. “We wanted to test out how these workshops would be received by the community during this Christmas season, and so far, it has been excellent!” It is clear from the faces of the children as they cut, paint, glue, draw, and create that the crafts are a hit – so much so that younger siblings, not quite to the 5-year-old mark, are begging to join.

Asked why Diyar wanted to start up these Christmas craft workshops, Khader responded with a vision of hope and resilience befitting the Advent season. “We want to create a space where children can express their emotions constructively through art, a space where they can share what they are feeling and experiencing safely and in a beautiful way.” This is especially important in the context of occupation, where the outlets for self-expression can be severely limited. These craft workshops, then, are a key part of Diyar’s vision for creating hope in Palestine, especially during the Christmas season.

Christmas Play

On the chilly Sunday evening of December 9th, families rush into the warmth of the International Center of Bethlehem. Eager children tug at their mothers’ hands, excited to see the annual Christmas Play put on by the Diyar Theater. Inside the building, students with the Brass for Peace group play Christmas carols, photographers snap free photos of families with a glittering Christmas tree, and smiling adults sell sweet treats and drinks. The Christmas spirit is almost tangible in the room.

Inside the theater, the stage is set for Diyar Theater’s Christmas Play. Dozens of children sit on a plush carpet in front of the stage, so they can see the show unobstructed, while their families are seated in chairs behind them. As the lights are lowered on the audience, cheery Christmas music comes from speakers on the stage and the show begins. The show itself is a delightful mix of theater and dance, mixing Palestinian Debke to upbeat remixes of familiar Christmas tunes with more contemplative and contemporary lyrical dance. The four main characters – three young people and the rambunctious “Grandpa Gharib” – are occasionally surrounded by young dancers in Santa outfits as they share their Christmas story. Laughter and excitement abound as the characters leap across the stage, engaging with each other in often hilarious antics. All too soon, the show is over and the children rejoin their families to receive chocolate and small gifts.

The show opened on Saturday in Ramallah, and this week will depart for a tour of the West Bank. This is particularly exciting, Diyar Director Rami Khader explains, because most of the villages and towns the group will visit do not have access to theater programs. For many of the children who see the Diyar Christmas Play in the coming weeks, it will be their first exposure to theater, dance, and the visual arts. The Christmas Play opens for them a new world of art and opportunity for self-expression amid the oppression of the occupation. This, Khader believes, will help to spread hope in Palestine to the hundreds of children that will see the play in the coming weeks.

The Christmas Play is part and parcel of Diyar’s larger vision of creating hope and a life of abundance and vibrancy for the Palestinian people. It is the mission of the Diyar organization to empower young people to create a new future for Palestine through art, culture, and creativity.