Community and Tradition Are on the Table for the Feast of Saint Barbara, Cherished in Jerusalem

This year, on December 14, 2024, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA)—Jerusalem hosted members and friends to the “Burbara Breakfast,” a traditional event held annually since the YWCA's founding in 1918. The event, which celebrates Eid al-Burbara (the Feast of Saint Barbara), includes eating breakfast, mingling, gift-sharing, and carol singing. Even as Palestinians mourn the events of this past year, connecting and sharing help the community to find solace, strength, and the will to cope.

A highlight of the gathering was the making of burbara, the wheat berry pudding that was served toward the end. This special treat commemorates Saint Barbara, who had connections to Lebanon and Palestine. This ancient holiday is shared among Christians and some Alawite communities throughout the Levant (particularly Lebanon and Palestine), as well as in Turkey and Georgia.

This year, this ancient holiday of Saint Barbara in the Greek Orthodox calendar happened to be December 17; and for the Catholic/Roman Latin denomination, on December 4. But Eid al-Burbara is actually celebrated throughout December, and for the YWCA of Palestine, the day was set for December 14.

Thanks to the YWCA—Jerusalem’s hospitality, particularly its Executive Director Sandrine Amer, we were invited to go to the kitchen of the YWCA and witness the lovely moments when Laurice Amer, a beloved member of the Jerusalem community, carefully and lovingly prepared this special treat. A content grandmother and a mother of six, Laurice is appreciated for many lovely contributions, among which is the distinctive burbara she consistently volunteers to prepare—not only during the month of December, but also for meaningful events of solidarity, condolence, and overall family and community support.

Laurice shares that in Lebanon, where she was born, people dress up in costumes for Eid al-Burbara; it’s a special month full of activities. In Jerusalem, too, she adds, families and friends—of different denominations and religions—gather to share this warm and delightful dessert.

Some sources share that Saint Barbara, a young adolescent, was the first person to convert to Christianity in the country, in the year 236 when paganism was prevalent. The lore is that Barbara’s father was so upset about his daughter’s conviction in Christianity that he killed her and threw her in a cave in ‘Abud, a village northwest of Ramallah.1

“It is said that she had converted secretly,”2 shares Shahrazad Zu‘mot Awwad, who was present at the YWCA event in Jerusalem. “Once her pagan and influential father found out, he made up his mind to kill his daughter. Escaping her father, Barbara ran away from home to a deserted area. Miraculously, fields of wheat, which had been rare and not in season, grew in the area and covered her, thus saving her life.”

Shahrazad points out that this is one of the accounts of Saint Barbara, but there are several others: “Some say her father found her and killed her. Others say her family members were so moved by her story that they converted. Either way, we have preserved the tradition of Barbara throughout the region.” Shahrazad adds that this story of faith has been splendidly preserved by people over centuries.

In a recent account shared on social media platforms, Suad Awias from ‘Abud reprised the oral history of how Saint Barbara has been considered as the patron saint of rain, as well as for young (and single) women.3

For the making of burbara, the wheat ingredient is unanimously agreed upon. Broadly speaking, it takes about a day for the wheat to be boiled properly. What else goes into the dish, however, can spark debate. Traditionally, the basics would be ground anise, fennel, cinnamon, and sugar. However, the general ingredients may lead to heated discussions. Some women across Jerusalem would say that “proper” burbara needs to be prepared along with qamar al-din, apricot paste, which would naturally give it a denser flavor and a richer orange-like color. Oftentimes, those who prepare it in this way also add dried prunes to the mix.

Shahrazad tells us that she personally makes burbara with qamar al-din, for that makes it “sweeter and tastier.”

Lily Shheiber, a Jerusalemite woman who is originally from Gaza, shares another regional version: “In Gaza, they would crush the wheat of the burbara so it is coarsely ground; this would give it a somewhat different texture, but the garnish is generally the same as those we see here in Jerusalem.”4

Another Jerusalemite woman, Ibtisam Jallouk Quttieneh,5 also known for her special burbara, lets the person who will be consuming the treat decide what to add: After preparing the wheat with sugar, ground fennel, cinnamon, and anise, she presents the other garnishes in separate plates, and lets the consumer choose from among raisins, sugar-coated candy, almonds, walnuts, apricots, coconut, or any other ingredient they may wish to add. The addition of pomegranate seeds (typical among Armenians or Turks) has also made an appearance in some versions of burbara.

As Laurice Amer sees it, the “basics” are clear: ground anise, cinnamon, and fennel. She points out that burbara is ideally a warm and—essentially—an affordable treat.

The sweet side of burbara is that it is very much a folkloric story that sustained the passing of time; it is a story about a girl who was buried in a cave and whose story connects between Lebanon and Palestine.

It also happens to be the story of countless women of the Levant who, across the decades and despite their means, managed to pour together this warm recipe, with basic and affordable ingredients, and shared it with their friends across faiths and neighborhoods.

Other examples of burbara treats shared this December: