Merry Christmas
By Medhat El-Zahed
Coptic Christmas this year carries many meanings. It is no longer only a celebration for Christians in Egypt but for all the country. Its significance goes beyond adding one more day to the official holiday calendar; rather, the true essence of this national holiday is Egypt's celebration of the birth of Christ, honoured in the Qur'an, as is his mother Mary.
The holiday of 7 January is a celebration of brotherhood and solidarity and draws on Egypt's history of national unity under the banner "Religion is for God and the Homeland is for All."
By celebrating Coptic Christmas Egypt has revived an image tarnished by the promoters of intellectual terrorism and terrorist operations, and by the fanatics who violated the teachings of religion by attempting to discriminate among people on the basis of religion.
The holiday is also a revival of the spirit of the 1919 Revolution which saw priests preaching from the pulpits of Al-Azhar and the Azharite clergy preaching from the altars of churches. It is also an underlining of the significance of earlier milestones in our modern history, which include the Coptic Church's decree prohibiting the pilgrimage of its followers to Jerusalem and Bethlehem while the Palestinian territories are being crushed beneath the boots of occupation.
On 7 January we find Egypt adhering to the Human Rights Declaration and other international conventions concerned with civil and religious freedoms which guarantee all citizens equal rights. This is a first step and it will be followed by many others, confirming the spirit of solidarity and brotherhood among Egyptians.
