Christians in Syria have celebrated a Christmas amidst uncertainty and fear, especially after the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama, which resulted in thousands of protesters taking to the streets to demand the new rulers protect religious minorities. However, crowds of Syrian Christians attended Christmas services.
HDN Newsroom
Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in early December.
A large crowd in Sednaya, Syria, gathered near a historic monastery on Christmas Eve to watch the lighting of a tree adorned with bright green lights.
Crowds of Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Tuesday for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, in a test of the new Islamist leaders' supposed pledges to protect the rights of the country's religious minorities.
The service was held amid tight security measures over concerns of violence against Christian sites, with security teams from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham guarding the area around the church.
Crowds of worshippers attended the service of Our Lady of Damascus Church in the Syrian capital. 
Hours before the service, hundreds of protesters in Damascus had gathered to protest the attack on a Christmas tree in Hama in west-central Syria, while Ahmed al-Sharaa had reassured Christians and other religious groups that they would be safe under HTS command.
He told Western officials that HTS would not seek revenge against members of the former Assad regime or repress any other religious minority, but many Christians are still unconvinced.
The burning of the Christmas tree was one of several incidents targeting Christians since the fall of the Assad regime, and on December 18, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a Greek Orthodox church in the city of Hama, entering the building and trying to destroy a cross and damaging the cemetery.
There are many ethnic and religious groups in the country, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shiites and Sunni Arabs, who are the majority of the Muslim population.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and eyewitnesses reported unprecedented protests by the Alawite minority in several Syrian cities, following a video broadcast on social media showing an attack on a place of worship of the religious group.
Three witnesses told AFP that protests took place in the coastal cities of Tartus, Jableh and Latakia in western Syria, dominated by the Alawite community from which ousted President Bashar al-Assad came.
The Syrian Observatory confirmed similar protests in Banias and Homs – the major city in central Syria – where police declared a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., according to Syrian news agency SANA.
In Syria there are many ethnic and religious groups, such as Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shiites and Sunni Arabs, who are the majority of the Muslim population.
