Aseel soldier - occupied Jerusalem

Midway through the Bab Khan Khan oil market in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, passers-by climb right through long stairs leading to the alleys of the Christian Quarter, attracted by the smells of two popular restaurants to the right.

The passerby continues his way, showing him the way to display Christmas decorations and gifts that decorate the Jerusalem shop, Samir Qutaineh and its surroundings.

The visitor also encounters a long minaret of a mosque, which is opposite the Latin Monastery, located in front of the Muslim Jerusalem's shop, which he uses to serve the Christians of the Old City, its monasteries, and its churches, to sell Christmas decorations and gifts for two months, then close its store for the rest of the year.

What is surprising about the story of this store and its owner is that the merchants of the old town open the doors of their stores throughout the year and barely secure the livelihood of their families, while Qatina closes the doors of his shop ten months by his will and refuses to transfer his specialty after the end of the Christmas period.

The shop is filled with Christmas decorations and gifts and draws the attention of those passing by (Al Jazeera)

Qatina welcomes his clients with a calm smile and helps them choose decorations and gifts, each according to his own taste. He deals with clear flexibility with the simple population in the Christian neighborhood, especially the elderly among them, who insist on him to reduce the price of the commodity, so he will not refuse an application to them.

Al-Maqdisi Al-Sittani bought his café in the Christian Quarter 15 years ago and decided to allocate it entirely to the Christmas season. He tells Al-Jazeera Net that he loves this type of trade because of its art and taste, and if he had no experience in this field, he would not have dared to buy a store to devote to this season.

A hobby, a trade
"I was the first to set up a huge Christmas decorations exhibition in Jerusalem in 1990 in the hall of Al-Furir School located in Bab Al-Jadeed in the Old City, and the success that accompanied this exhibition and subsequent exhibitions made a name for me in Jerusalem, so I resolved to buy the store and start trading in this field."

Christmas decorations draw tourists (the island)

His extended family also owns the stores in the middle of the Khan Al-Zait market to sell various gifts, and Qattinah visits him for the rest of the year, but he, like other merchants, suffers from weak purchasing movement, and despite the great demand for his shop, which he owns alone in Christian sailors, he prefers to close its doors to transfer his specialty and open it throughout the year.

"I am the No. 1 trader in Jerusalem in the field of Christmas decorations ... many do not dare to go into this specialization because of my great experience in it ... I believe that if I open another major here, it will not be popular, so I accept a profit of two months to pay the store's costs throughout the year from electricity Property tax (Arnona) and other taxes. "

Qattina Store, the most popular Christmas decorations and gifts (Al-Jazeera)

Al-Jazeera Net talks with Qattina interrupt customers' entry and their frequent questions about prices or their positive impressions about the goods and their diversity, and their fascination with those that he makes manually with the assistance of his son, Dean.

A special touch
"I strive to renew the goods every year, and I work to bring different forms of decorations as I design them as birthdays. Some of them are illuminated masterpieces and others are used for eating and other handcraft, and so we put our own touch because this field needs taste and art in addition to experience in the field of trade," Qutainah said.

You are busy fulfilling the requests of the monasteries and churches in Jerusalem, just before Christmas (Al-Jazeera).

Qutainah begins in July, every year, with preparations for purchases, most of which are imported from China and Thailand. Upon its arrival, it prepares for the Christmas season and prepares its abandoned shop for ten months to receive new and permanent customers.

The convents, churches, and homes of Christians in the Old City are covered by Christmas in the neighborhood of their Muslim neighbor. In this context, Qutaineh says that the Holy City has long been known for the harmony and cohesion of the population and Christian and Muslim holy sites.

"Some of the Christmas rituals I did not know as a Muslim, and clergy and nuns began to ask me specific requests and implement them, such as bringing the candles of pink and purple colors, which they must have in the monasteries and churches one month before Christmas, so they lit a violet candle and the day of the holiday lit the candle .. Now Available in a store every year, upon their request.

Jahshan: The store has become a Christmas title for Christians (Al-Jazeera)

On the impact of classical music, customers enter and exit carrying bags of decorations and gifts, including Jerusalemite Yusef Jahshan, who lives in the alley of nearby St. Francis.

Jahshan says that this store has become a title for Christians in the Christmas season, and it is one of the rituals that give a special glow to the road in which this shop is located.

"What distinguishes Qatina is that he is keen to renew the goods every year, which leads everyone to buy from him and not to go to others."