For Orlando's Egyptian Coptic Christians, a New Year of Hope
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
By: Carmel Delshad

January 8th, 2013 | WMFE- For many, Christmas begins and ends on December 25th. But for Egyptian Coptic Christians, who make up roughly 10 percent of Egypt's population, Christmas was January 7th. And for some of Orlando's Coptic community, this year marks a renewed feeling of hope.

It’s Christmas Day at St. Rebekah’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Orlando. Roughly 200 families sit together in the community hall, feasting on fiteer—a kind of buttery, flaky bread. January 7th marks the end of over 40 days of fasting, where practitioners maintain a vegan diet.

But today, they feast.

“This year, we have more peace than last year,” says Sam Gergis of the congregation.

He says he feels more at ease now with elections on the way in Egypt.

Violence has been wide spread since the 2011 overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak and several churches have been attacked in the months after the revolution.

Now that the Muslim Brotherhood is out of power too, Gergis says members of the Coptic community are looking forward to the upcoming year being a safer one for their minority faith.

Mikheal Mikheal agrees.

“It’s a new phase of what’s going on. But last year, and the year before, the picture wasn’t the same,” says Mikheal.

Father Reweis Salidis of the church says that the main message of this Christmas season is hope, and his congregation is listening.

“You can see the hope and they are looking forward for a good future,” Reweis says.

Children wearing their church best run around the community hall, which echoes with salutations of “Koll sana winto tayibeen” or Happy New Year.

For this community, it’s a new year that marks a new sense of hope for stability back home.