The Christmas tree in Sheikh Mohammad, Akkar, northern Lebanon, on Dec. 18, 2025. (Credit: Lyana Alameddine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
About 30 schoolchildren, dressed as Santa Clauses, file into the church.“Make the sign of the cross,” Sister Maxime tells one boy, then another. The head of the Notre-Dame de la Delivrance school keeps a close watch on the children attending Father George’s Mass.In Sheikh Mohammed, a Christian-majority village in the hills of Akkar, the priest smiles when the name comes up.“It’s true, it’s surprising. Most residents refused to change it. We like it,” he says.According to residents, the story goes that before it was named Sheikh Mohammed in the 19th century, the 350-year-old village was called Mtalleh, meaning “with a view,” because it overlooks the surrounding region. Meanwhile, outside the village Ahmad al-Sharaa, the new 'zaim' of Sunnis in north Lebanon During Ottoman times, the village sat on a thoroughfare leading to Wadi...
About 30 schoolchildren, dressed as Santa Clauses, file into the church.“Make the sign of the cross,” Sister Maxime tells one boy, then another. The head of the Notre-Dame de la Delivrance school keeps a close watch on the children attending Father George’s Mass.In Sheikh Mohammed, a Christian-majority village in the hills of Akkar, the priest smiles when the name comes up.“It’s true, it’s surprising. Most residents refused to change it. We like it,” he says.According to residents, the story goes that before it was named Sheikh Mohammed in the 19th century, the 350-year-old village was called Mtalleh, meaning “with a view,” because it overlooks the surrounding region. Meanwhile, outside the village Ahmad al-Sharaa, the new 'zaim' of Sunnis in north Lebanon During Ottoman times, the village sat on a thoroughfare...
