Happy World Olive Tree Day!
Posted in:Â Days of Observance, Video
Established by UNESCO in 2019, World Olive Tree Day is celebrated every year on November 26.
2025
This World Olive Tree Day, we recognize the crises devastating olive trees across Lebanon and Palestine.
Every autumn, olive trees set the rhythm of life across Lebanon and Palestine. Families gather under the silvery leaves, spreading nets and pressing olives into oil that sustains them through winter. The olive harvest is more than an agricultural season; it is an act of continuity, belonging, resilience and hope. But this year, that rhythm has faltered. Olive oil, a cornerstone of Lebanese and Palestinian cuisine and a symbol of their heritage, is facing a critical moment.
From the mountainsides of northern Lebanon to the groves of Gaza, a combination of war, drought, and displacement has cast a long shadow over one of the most symbolic harvests in the Mediterranean. What used to be a season of abundance has become one of loss and uncertainty.

2023
Happy Olive Tree Day! Olive oil production and olive trees are such a special part of Palestinian heritage. Our team member Sulieman explains more.
OUR BLOG
Related
You may think Lebanon’s crisis is over, it’s not. Ongoing air strikes and evacuation orders, and today, nearly 1 million people remain displaced, including 130,000 still living in collective shelters and refugee camps. Entire villages are still empty, farmlands destroyed…
On my recent mission to Lebanon, I travelled to Saida, a city known for its serene shoreline, where beauty and hardship now live side by side. There, at the South Lebanon Water Establishment, engineers walked me through the devastation: broken…