Christmas under siege: Baghdad tree tradition dies

Sabah Jerges, Middle East Online

Baghdad's vicious sectarian war has claimed another victim; a Christmas tradition that used to bond the city's Christian community closer to their Muslim neighbours is dying. Until this year, Muslim farmers from Baghdad's outskirts would descend on Sadun Street in downtown Karrada to sell Christmas trees to the area's large Christian community and exchange season's greetings. Prices were low and, for the remaining Christians in an increasingly dangerous district, it was as much an inter-religious social event as a market. "They used to wish me Merry Christmas before selling me the tree I chose," said mother-of-two Mary Hanna. "I miss them and their trees this year."...

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