Christmas celebrated in Bethlehem with message of joy, peace
Bethlehem: Christmas celebrations kicked off in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem on Tuesday, with a message of joy and peace amid the tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians.
A traditional parade was held in the city’s old city on Tuesday, led by Palestinian scouts who walked the historically cited path of the holy family through the alleys of Bethlehem to the Manger square and the entrance of Church of Nativity.
“Our message is joy and peace for everybody,” Mayor Anton Salman told Xinhua.
“The world needs both, they need peace and they need joy, because with joy people will be more optimistic for a better future, better life and accepting others,” he said.
“With joy, we can bring peace to everybody in the world.”
Christians, tourists gather
Christians and tourists from around the world gathered at the city’s central square, where choirs sung Christmas carols and visitors exchanged greetings and took pictures.
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the most senior Roman Catholic official in the Middle East, entered the city through an Israeli manned gate in the separation wall. Tensions have been high between the Israelis and Palestinians in the past year due to a continued deadlock in the peace process and the frequent clashes between Palestinian protesters in Gaza and Israeli forces along the border.
Archbishop Pizzaballa is expected to preside the midnight mass in the presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other top Palestinian political and religious leaders and foreign diplomats.
Hani Rauf, a resident of Bethlehem, said he came with his family to join the joyous celebrations in the city with thousands of others from across the world.
“We welcomed the scouts and observe the clergy coming in and enjoy the festive atmosphere here,” Archbishop Rauf said.
Muslin Palestinians join celebrations
Even some Muslim Palestinians joined the celebrations in Bethlehem.
Ahmad Sliman, a Muslim living in the nearby village of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, said he celebrates Christmas every year with his Christian friends, because it is a national Palestinian feast, not just religious.
“I’m a Muslim, we come with our Christian friends and join the celebrations, to greet them to say that Christmas in Palestine is a national celebration for all of us, not just for Christians or Muslims alone, and all that we hope for is for peace to prevail,” said Mr Sliman.
Jiayu Wang, a Chinese tourist who visited
Bethlehem for the first time, said her visit has changed her impression of the region, which is usually portrayed by the media as a place of violence, chaos an dangers.
“It has really changed my mind about this country,” Ms Wang told Xinhua.
“Through my visit here, I can see the country through young people, activities and passion, and it’s quite the opposite of all that (was reported).”
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism said on Monday that the number of tourists visiting Palestine in 2019 reached 3.5 million, an increase of 15 per cent.
However, fewer Christians from the Gaza Strip were able to attend the Christmas celebrations in the biblical city due to Israel’s restrictions this year.
Kamel Ayyad, head of public information of the Orthodox church in Gaza Strip, said about 600 Christians from Gaza applied for permits to go to Bethlehem this year, but only 55 of them, mostly over 60 years old, received permits.
This year, celebrations are bolstered with the completion of the renovation of Church of Nativity, built around A.D. 330.
The renovation saw the fixing of the church roof, lightings and main constructional restoration, as well as the cleaning of walls and floors that revealed beautiful mosaic works and paintings.