On the evening of 9 December 2025, Jounieh’s waterfront stopped being just a picturesque bay and turned into a full, glowing stage. As the switch was flipped and the city’s towering Christmas tree came to life, thousands of lights climbed into the sky, fireworks burst over the water and families cheered, hugged and reached instinctively for their phones.
In a country that has endured years of economic strain, political uncertainty and daily stress, the Jounieh Christmas tree 2025 was more than a seasonal decoration. For one night, the Keserwan city offered something simple but rare: a shared moment of beauty and optimism.
A Bay of Lights in a Challenging Year
The celebration unfolded along the Jounieh seafront, where a massive tree rose from a central square overlooking the bay. Wrapped in dense strings of white and golden lights, topped with a bright star and surrounded by smaller trees and glowing arches, the installation instantly became the focal point of the city’s festive season.
The programme began at sunset, as choirs and local bands performed Christmas classics and Lebanese songs on an outdoor stage. As the clock approached the official lighting moment, the music softened, the crowd counted down together, and the bay went briefly dark before exploding into colour as the tree and surrounding decorations lit up in perfect sync with the first round of fireworks.
Children climbed onto their parents’ shoulders to see better, while visitors lined balconies and rooftops along the corniche to capture panoramic shots of the illuminated bay. For many, the event felt like a symbolic reset—an invitation to step out of daily worries and into a more hopeful December.
Families, Visitors and a City in Celebration
The lighting ceremony drew a diverse crowd: families from Jounieh and neighbouring towns, visitors from Beirut, Lebanese expatriates back for the holidays, and tourists looking for a different take on the Mediterranean Christmas experience.
- Families arrived early to let children explore the decorations, take photos with Santa installations and ride small Christmas-themed attractions set up near the tree.
- Couples and groups of friends turned the evening into a full night out, combining the ceremony with dinner in Jounieh’s cafes, rooftop bars and seafront restaurants.
- Photographers and content creators moved constantly between vantage points, from the waterfront to the hillside, chasing reflections of the tree in the bay and fireworks silhouetting the mountains.
Beyond the spectacle, there was a clear sense of community. Street vendors handed out roasted chestnuts and manakish, local NGOs organised small stalls to raise funds and awareness for social causes, and municipal volunteers helped guide crowds and keep walkways clear.
Boosting Local Businesses and Festive Tourism
For Jounieh’s businesses, the Christmas tree lighting was not just a cultural highlight, but an economic opportunity. Hotels reported higher occupancy for the weekend surrounding the event, while restaurants, pubs and cafes along the highway and old souk extended their opening hours to capture the surge in foot traffic.
Shop owners in and around the city noted increased visits throughout the day as families combined Christmas shopping with the evening’s festivities. For many small businesses, December is one of the most important months of the year, and a strong start driven by a high-profile event can make a meaningful difference.
Tourism operators have also seized the moment, packaging the Jounieh Christmas tree 2025 into wider holiday experiences that include visits to Harissa, Byblos, Beirut’s Christmas villages and mountain ski resorts once the snow arrives. In that sense, the tree is both a local attraction and a visual anchor in Lebanon’s broader winter tourism narrative.
Why Jounieh’s Tree Matters for Lebanon
Lebanon has no shortage of Christmas trees and holiday villages, from the decorated streets of Beirut to the historic alleys of Byblos. Yet Jounieh’s tree stands out because of its unique setting: a massive installation directly facing the sea, framed by mountains and a cable car line that has long been one of the country’s iconic views.
In recent years, many Lebanese have sought moments that remind them their country can still look and feel like a destination, not just a headline about crisis. Events like the Jounieh lighting ceremony do not erase structural problems, but they show that cities and municipalities can still curate experiences that attract visitors, create jobs—however temporarily—and reinforce a sense of belonging.
There is also a symbolic aspect. A bright, carefully designed tree rising above a bay that has seen both prosperity and hardship can feel like a quiet statement: that communities are still willing to invest time, money and creativity into public spaces, even when budgets are tight and uncertainty is constant.
What Comes Next in Jounieh’s Festive Season
The 9 December lighting was only the beginning of Jounieh’s Christmas calendar. Throughout the month, the waterfront and central streets are expected to host:
- Evening performances by local choirs, school groups and indie bands.
- Weekend Christmas markets featuring handmade crafts, designer gifts and Lebanese food products.
- Special family activities such as children’s storytelling sessions, charity drives and Santa visits.
For residents and visitors alike, the tree has become a meeting point—a place to start or finish a night out, to grab a quick photo, or simply to sit by the water and breathe in a bit of festive calm.
As the lights continue to shine over Jounieh bay throughout the month, the message is simple: even in difficult times, Lebanon’s cities can still find ways to glow. And on 9 December 2025, Jounieh did exactly that.
Reference: Local media coverage, municipal announcements and on-the-ground observations of the Jounieh Christmas 2025 celebrations.
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