by Dana Halawi, Huang Hongsheng

BEIRUT, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Decorated with multi-colored light strips, stars and bells, a Christmas tree was gradually put up by delighted young men and women in the public square of Lebanon's southeast town of Marjeyoun. Finally, an illuminative star was hung on the top of the tree, prompting waves of applause and cheers.

In such a happy and harmonious atmosphere, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the danger of military confrontations in the not-far-away Lebanese-Israeli border.

"We will not allow the security instability to steal the joy of Christmas and New Year," 25-year-old Joe Haddad told Xinhua while illuminating the tree's light bulbs.

The Lebanon-Israel border has witnessed increased tension since Oct. 8 after the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, triggering the Israeli response by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

In the border village of Debl in the Nabatiye Governorate, where over half of its residents migrated to escape the danger of shellings, the celebration nevertheless carried on.

Ahlam al-Alam, a lady in her twenties, told Xinhua her border village didn't abandon the celebration of Eid el Barbara, the Feast of Saint Barbara, annually celebrated on Dec. 17.

Folks in her hometown held a massive masquerade this year, roaming the streets, singing religious chants, and distributing boiled wheat and a sweet known as "Barbara," a traditional inherited dish.

"Without our usual celebrations, Christmas and New Year are incomplete. We will never give them up no matter what plight we are in," Al-Alam said.

The mayor of Debl Khalil Hanna told Xinhua that most Christian villages have prepared to celebrate their glorious holidays as usual. Even neighboring Muslim ones such as Burj al-Muluk, Ain Ebel and Rmeish, which were previously neutral about these festivals, made increasing efforts to feel the festive mood and pray for the scarred country.

Raja Hamdan, a housewife in her fifties residing in the southern village of Kawkaba, told Xinhua that despite the hardships, "the joy and hope should not be deprived," she said, watching her children singing Christmas songs around the tree before the sounds of shells and rockets resume. Enditem

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