Sarah Latifa had feared that her Christian community in Syria may struggle to celebrate its first Christmas since Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Tuesday for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, in an early test of the new Islamist rulers' pledges to protect the rights of the country's religious minorities.

Protests in Christian neighborhoods of Syria's capital city erupted after a Christmas tree was set ablaze weeks after the downfall of the nation's longtime dictatorship, according to multiple reports.