Worshippers flocked to the Mar Elias Church to attend the Christmas Eve service on Monday. Video from the town shows people dressed in Santa Claus costumes, Christmas lights displays, fireworks, and even a drum line orchestra performing “Jingle bells” and other festive music.

"Today, we are actually celebrating the new birth of Syria along with the birth of the Christ, which has been made possible through [the return] of safety and security. We thank God that [Hauran] belongs again to its motherland," Najeeb Romeyih, pastor of the Mar Elias Church, told Ruptly.

Hauran is the region along the Syrian border with Jordan, which was held for years by armed groups seeking to overthrow the government in Damascus. Their stronghold of Daraa surrendered to the government forces in July this year. Izraa is a town of some 20,000 residents, north of Daraa on the road to Damascus.

Syrian Christians celebrated Christmas in cities and towns under government control, with grand celebrations in Damascus and Aleppo in particular. Last week, Washington announced it would withdraw all US troops from the country, leading to hope that areas liberated from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) by US-backed forces in the northeast will be reunified with the rest of the country.

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