As you might have guessed already, Christmas in Israel ain’t such a huuuge event – you really have to know where to go to enjoy your Christmas festivities in the Holy Land!
The towns and villages of the Galilee however, are a great, secret (almost) source for some Christmas fun! Since there are quite a number of Christian Arab villages in the Western Galilee, you can expect a healthy dose of Christmas spirit there. Some of the villages where you can seriously expect to experience Christmas in the Galilee include Mi’ilya, Beit Jann, Kfar Yasif, and Tarshiha.
The Galilee even has an annual Winter Festival, which is something you shouldn’t miss. The festival usually takes place around December 20-22 (but check out our annual guide to Christmas events for confirmation). It’s packed with plenty of special events like culinary tours, culinary workshops by chefs, and festive dinners for those who love a good gastronomic feast.
For families spending their Christmas in the Galilee, there are a number of arts and crafts workshops that kids and parents alike will enjoy, as well as nature and art tours for those who nurture an artistic side. A concert combined with a tour, evenings reserved for group singing and storytelling, and various music shows await those who love a good slice of Crimbo entertainment.
For those with an adventurous side to them, there are jeep tours, Christmas tours, and even a Galilean Christmas Run (usually held in the Western Galilee town of Mi’ilya, Israel, just a few days before Christmas – the pic of the Santas on the motorbike is from that Christmas run, and yep, you can sign up here!).
Check out this page for more details about this annual Christmas festival and other Christmas in the Galilee events (just a warning, it’s an “official” tourist site, so don’t expect the English page to be much to go on!).
See also: Christmas in Bethlehem | Christmas in Jerusalem | Christmas in Tel Aviv | Christmas in Nazareth | Christmas in Haifa