From the return of public Christmas celebrations in villages across Idlib to the quieter, security-heavy streets of Damascus, Syria marks its second Christmas since the fall of the Assad regime, shaped by new freedoms alongside the enduring scars of war.
Christmas lights illuminate Damascus’s Old City, where a visible security presence accompanies subdued celebrations among the city’s Christian community.
Syria’s Christian community is believed to have shrunk from one million in 2011, when the war began, to around 300,000 today, with many seeking refuge abroad.