Christmas preparations have begun within the St. George Greek Orthodox Church within the southeastern province of Hatay, which was barely broken through the Feb. 6 catastrophic earthquakes and reopened for worship after renovation.
Preparations have begun for the 2023 Christmas celebration. Young individuals from the congregation, along with young children, arrange a Christmas tree contained in the church and within the church corridor and made decorations.
Yusuf Nicholas Papasoğlu, Father of Iskenderun Orthodox Churches, stated that they’re making ready for the choir live performance, saying: “Although our main church, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, was destroyed in the earthquake, we are fulfilling all our religious obligations in our St. George Church where we are now.”
“The Christmas rituals started on Nov. 15 with fasting. From the primary day till now, we’ve been training the choir with our kids and youth. We could have a choir live performance the day earlier than Christmas. Even although we’re bitter inside, we’ll attempt to have a good time Christmas collectively so as to not lose this spirit,” stated Papasoğlu.
“In previous years, we used to have a Christmas ball, but as everyone knows, due to the earthquake disaster, we will celebrate this special day with a Christmas service in our church,” he added.
Source: www.dailysabah.com