Few signs of Christmas cheer in the Jewish state

The irony in Israel is that, while Christmas is barely celebrated, many popular U.S. and British shows broadcast on television have Christmas themes at this time of year.

"To most people watching it has no meaning here whatsoever," said professor Joshua Schwartz, director of Bar Ilan University's center for Jerusalem studies.

"It means so little here that people will use Christmas decorations to decorate their Succahs," he said referring to the festival of the Tabernacles, which falls around October, in which Jews sit in colorfully decorated booths.

Besides a scarcity of Christmas spirit, there are also fears among some in Israel's Christian community about coming under scrutiny from by the authorities. Since many illegal workers are Christians, the authorities watch those who celebrate.

"We do not feel we can enjoy ourselves," said Nash, a 33-year-old illegal worker from Ghana, who declined to give his family name and who fears deportation.

He lives with his wife and one child in Tel Aviv, and has sent his second child back to Ghana. "We will not enjoy the food we eat, because we'll be thinking about tomorrow," he said.

While new migrants may have their concerns about Christmas in the land of Israel, one sector of Israeli society that does follow the Christian holiday is the Russian community, many of whom celebrate with parties even if they are not Christians.

About one million people from the former Soviet Union emigrated to Israel during the 1990s, and while the vast majority of them were Jewish, there were many Christians too. Most Russians use an Orthodox calendar and celebrate on January 7.

"We always buy Christmas decorations -- it is our culture from our homeland and I see no contradiction living here in Israel," said 23-year old Russian immigrant Roman Zalmanovitch, from the coastal town of Bat Yam. "One thing I miss is the atmosphere back in Russia. We will never get that here."