HOME FOR Magazine – with its debut issue HOME FOR Christmas, is a well – traveled magazine that reaches out in print to more than 200 destinations around the world and with its online version, the reach extends to the rest of the globe. HOME For Magazine is about Lebanon, the Lebanese all over the world and what links them together-from style, to culture, to people, their heritage, and the “giving back side of life.”
“HOME For Christmas” is a comprehensive approach to Christmas, paying homage to the abundant givers who contribute to Lebanon through their success, philanthropy, corporate activism, advocacy and volunteerism.
We are a platform for promoting Lebanese talent, businesses and accomplished dreams, through a 360-degrees approach magazine. Home For Magazine represents the Lebanon we are, the Lebanon we aspire to be, and the energy we radiate to our non-Lebanese friends with particular insights into our daily lives, both HOME and abroad, through written and visual articles.
The Lebanese and their blended families may be known for their beautiful and elegant women, for their outings, for fun entertainment and for their sophisticated and lavish lifestyle, but they are much more than this. The Lebanese have always been pioneers in the cultural, design and art scenes. They are about quality education, quality healthcare, they are about resilience; and about supporting each other by alleviating wounds of their families both in and outside Lebanon. They are about lives with missions.
Lebanon is not only about our lively cities, it is also about our quiet villages, our heritage, our culinary legacy and traditions; It is about our olive trees and the simplicity and goodness of our people, about our mountains with fresh air on a summer night and the Mediterranean seashore, our window to the world. It is about the smell of our soil, especially after rain. It is about diversity – of weather, scenery and people. It is about a nation that deserves to live in abundance of intellect and prosperity.
An authentic Lebanese person is about freedom, character and determination. We believe that all “people are born to shine” and that everyone is called on to shine in his own special way.*
I personally find tremendous joy in the progress of others, especially women, having come from a background of advocacy for Women’s leadership in Civil Society. I tend to believe that our roots help us grow and the more rooted the tree is, the bigger it can develop in length and width, as it gains the ability to spread its branches here and around the world. It is true that Our Lebanon is suffering from various chronic illnesses, that is why our land needs us. I feel as a mother does when her child is sick; it is through such hard times that the child cries out for her the most.
This inaugural issue of Home For Magazine celebrates Christmas, when Christians honor the birth of Jesus. We will be celebrating other faiths as well, sharing our traditions and experiences with each other, and enriching each other’s lives – our way of peacebuilding. We believe that with love we are always closer to God.
On our cover is Miss Lebanese Emigrant 2014, a young Lebanese woman from Casablanca who, carries freshness, depth, hope and adoration for her motherland, the soul of this magazine.
How exciting is the era where we can live HOME even when we are miles away. This bitter sweet painful feeling we carry with us to all the fascinating countries we visit or adopt. I carried HOME with me for 10 years when I was living in beautiful Greece.
Apart from our professional editorial team writing for the magazine, and interviews with inspiring people, we have an exceptional team of volunteer writers mainly from the Lebanese Diaspora, who each have something worth sharing, and today have a platform to express it. We hope the passion we put in all of our articles will be an inspiration to all of you.
A magazine is work in progress. We invite you to get engaged. Please send your comments and potential articles, photos and contributions to publishing@pidraya.net. Expect HOME For the Summer next-we make a better magazine by taking our time. Please stay connected by looking for us on your favorite social media platforms.
Finally, I would like to thank the HOME For Christmas team and contributors for their sleepless nights and passionate involvement. Additionally, I would especially like to thank our first partners/ sponsors who believed in this project and who continue to believe in positive progressive change, who lead with their minds and hearts and are willing to take the risk to encourage new initiatives and don’t just “play it safe.” You will always be special to us.
It is with businesses, organizations and people like yourselves that we can create a cosmopolitan Lebanese magazine, a beautiful and meaningful one that holds beauty, peace and hope, our country and the true spirit of Christmas at its core.
Patricia Bitar Cherfan
Social Entrepreneur| Founder
