Twinkling lights, stars, bells and revolutionary flags are strung above the ancient streets of the old city of Damascus.

Sally, 45, hesitated for several days before decorating her home in Damascus for Christmas. Hanging lights on a tree covered in bells, she hoped the year ahead would be good to her, her family and all Christians in Syria.

Protests erupted in Christian neighborhoods of the Syrian capital Damascus after a Christmas tree was set on fire in another town by unidentified men on Monday evening. A video showing men setting fire to a publicly displayed Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah,