I’ll never forget the year a young Palestinian boy experienced the magic of Christmas thanks to a Muslim Santa

Santa Claus showed up late one Christmas Eve in Jericho, which lies deep in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.

I know because I was there waiting for him.

I was waiting patiently. But the young Palestinian boy beside me wasn’t so patient. He had been waiting weeks for Santa and his excitement was getting the better of him as he waited some more to see what gifts Santa might bring.

“Relax, Santa will be here soon,” his mother, Karin Laub, an Associated Press reporter based in Jerusalem and now AP Middle East editor based in Amman, Jordan, told him.

Karin is a Christian. She and her husband, who is Muslim and operated a toy and gift store on Jericho’s main square, were raising their children to respect and enjoy the celebrations of both Christian and Muslim religions. I was the Star’s Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem and Karin had invited me to join their family on Christmas Eve.

Finally, Karin whispered in my ear asking if I could go outside because Santa needed help.

In the dark beside the house a man was struggling to don a red Santa suit. The man introduced himself as one of the boy’s older cousins and apologized for being so late.

Seems this Santa had been delayed because he had been attending evening prayers at the nearby mosque.

We finally got Santa dressed and when he entered the house with his bag of gifts and shouting a cheerful “Ho Ho Ho” the little boy jumped up and down with unrestrained happiness.

Each Christmas I remember that special evening vividly — seeing the sheer joy of a young Jericho boy as Santa, in reality his Muslim cousin, gave him his first gift.

I remember it every Christmas when I donate to the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, or volunteer to pack or deliver Santa Fund gift boxes for children in the Greater Toronto Area.

And each year I am reminded of the joy on the faces of children as they receive the Christmas gift boxes — whether they live in a neighbourhood in the GTA or in a house in Jericho.

Jericho is one of the most storied places in the world. It is the lowest permanently inhabited city in the world at an altitude of 240 metres below sea level, being just a few kilometres from the Dead Sea, which is the world’s deepest spot. It also claims to be the oldest city in the world, with archeological findings indicated it dates back 11,000 years.

Jericho has a small Palestinian Christian population but, like many communities in the West Bank, it has been declining for decades and now represents barely one per cent of the population.

Still, Christmas is special to the children. It’s also special to their parents and that Christmas Eve it was special for me to see how people of different faiths joined to celebrate it together.

The next morning I drove the short distance from Jerusalem to the town of Bethlehem, which was also celebrating Christmas — or at least it was trying to do so.

The town was struggling to stage holiday celebrations because for years the leaders of the Palestinian intefadeh had banned all pageantry other than religious ceremonies. Few international tourists were in Manger Square, and Israeli soldiers frisked visitors for weapons and controlled who could enter the Church of the Nativity, which stands above the grotto where Christ is reputed to have been born.

But even in the bleak, depressed birthplace of Christ, children were experiencing the joy of receiving gifts on Christmas morning, although not delivered in person by Santa.

The Christmas spirit extended to Israel itself, where the government got into the spirit each year by offering free Christmas trees to Christian journalists, diplomats and church officials.

All I had to do was show up just inside the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s walled Old City a few days before Christmas, and I could pick out a tree cut from the nearby Jerusalem Forest on the western outskirts of the city.

Bringing joy to children at Christmas, regardless of their religion or ethnic background, is a tradition celebrated across the world, as I experienced that season. In the Greater Toronto Area, the Santa Claus Fund has been helping to make that happen by providing gifts to children in need since 1906.

For many children, it’s the only gift they will receive.

Please donate.

I’ve been donating to the Toronto Star Santa Fund for years and, every time I do, I remember the Christmas Eves and Christmas Days I spent in the Holy Land.

The goal this year is to raise $1.5 million to provide gift boxes to 50,000 underprivileged children.

Your donation will help to create cherished memories that will last a lifetime — like those of that child in faraway Jericho who was visited by a Santa who was late because he had to stop to pray at his local mosque.

Bob Hepburn is a Star politics columnist and based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @BobHepburn

GOAL: $1.5 million

TO DATE: $542,399

How to donate

With your gift, you can help provide holiday gift boxes that inspire hope and joy to 50,000 underprivileged children.

Online: To donate by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, scan this QR code or use our secure form at thestar.com/santaclausfund

By cheque: Mail to The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, One Yonge St., Toronto, ON M5E 1E6

By phone: Call 416-869-4847

The Star does not authorize anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued.

To volunteer: scfvolunteer@thestar.ca