In a joint statement on Saturday, the leaders of the Christian churches encouraged their congregations to "fully celebrate the approach and coming of the birth of Christ by setting public signs of Christian hope".
Renunciation was interpreted negatively
Last year, the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem decided to refrain from Christmas decorations and public festivities "as an expression of our solidarity with the many people who are suffering from the new outbreak of war".
"Even though our intentions were good, many around the world have misinterpreted this call as a 'cancellation of Christmas' in the Holy Land - the very place of the Holy Nativity of Our Lord," reads the statement published by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem on its website.
This has diminished the unique witness of the Christmas message of light emerging from darkness.
This year, Christians in the Holy Land wanted to repeat the Christmas story again, in which the angels "proclaimed the good news of the birth of Christ to the shepherds in the midst of similarly dark times in our region" and brought a message of divine hope and peace.