GREEN CHRISTMAS IN IRAN
by Maryam Jalali
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Jan 15 2009
UK
Environmentalists urge Iran’s Christian Armenians to go artificial
and save a real Christmas tree.
Every day, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and many senior Iranian
officials of Iran go past Tehran’s oldest flower shop to reach the
presidential Palace. Around Christmas, the window display normally
has fir trees on sale.
This year, however, there were no Christmas trees on view ahead of the
Christian festival, which falls on January 6 because of the eastern
calendar used by Iran’s Armenian minority.
But this was not the result of government restrictions on Christian
practice. Instead, the shop’s owner explained that Armenians had
been persuaded by environmental groups to opt for small living trees
in pots, or artificial trees imported from China, instead of the
traditional cut Christmas tree
That was not the case everywhere, though. Despite the
environmentalists’ best efforts, shops in some Christian neighbourhoods
around the country still had rows of pine trees stacked up on the
pavement outside. These trees are sourced from commercial plantations
which grow them especially for Christmas.
Iran has some 100,000 Christians, mostly of the Armenians’ unique
Apostolic Church. About ten per cent belong to the Armenian Catholic
Church, which is affiliated with Rome.
In the Iranian capital, most Christians live in the eastern areas of
Narmak and Majidiyyeh, as well as in centrally-located neighbourhoods
like Karimkhan and Bahar.
Among the city’s main Armenian shopping areas are the Mirza-ye
Shirazi and Villa (or Nejatollahi) streets. The latter is particularly
well-frequented by tourists looking for traditional handicrafts. At
one end of this old street stands the great Church of St Sarkis,
while a short walk away is a confectioner’s shop specialising in
sweets and cakes for the New Year period.
Outside the shop, a large Christmas tree stand in the middle of
Karimkhan street, which the city authorities decorate with coloured
lights to remind Muslims and non-Muslims alike of the western New Year
(the Iranian year runs from March to March).
For Iranian Muslims, Christmas [surely Christmas, not new
year?] commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, who is revered in
Islam and is mentioned frequently in the Koran, which also devotes a
"sura" or verse to the Virgin Mary. Some years ago, a park near the
Christian neighbourhood in Karimkhan Street was renamed Hazrat Maryam,
after Mary.
Villa Street has many shops selling Christmas cards and decorations
such as crystal balls and silver stars. There are also artificial trees
which come in all sizes and ready decorated if the customer wants it.
A campaign by environmentalists to save the world’s s trees led
many Armenians to start buying artificial trees, which also have the
advantage of being reusable.
Last year, Tehran municipality also offered small living pine trees
to the Christian community, free of charge.
At the far end of Villa Street, close to the Church of St Sarkis,
there are still real trees on sale, leaning against the wall of
Hazrat Maryam Park. They are priced according to their size, colour
and density and the shop’s location.
This year, the Golestan flower shop in north Tehran had trees ranging
from deep green all the way through to silver. Yet one customer went
for a small living tree which could later be planted in the ground. He
said an artificial tree was out of the question as it would not be a
"good omen"
Maryam Jalali is a journalist in Tehran
Mianeh is an IWPR-run initiative to provide an independent open
webspace for ideas, analysis and debate for Iranian journalists
and writers. This article is taken from Mianeh’s bilingual website,