A day of celebration & hope in Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM this year had the largest Christmas crowd in years. Pilgrims from around the world gathered in Manger Square, then entered the Church of the Nativity, venerated for centuries as the site of the birth of Christ.

At the Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, spoke before a packed house of worshippers and dignitaries that included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Out in Manger Plaza, thousands of tourists from many countries sang Christmas carols and hymns. Lighting the plaza was a giant Christmas tree.

“We haven’t seen numbers like this in years,” said Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Maaya. The three million visitors to Bethlehem this year exceeded last year’s number by hundreds of thousands.

It was not like this last year when there was an upsurge of violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Bethlehem is located in the Palestinian West Bank, south of Jerusalem, which is claimed by both Israel and Palestine as their capital. To get to Bethlehem for the Christmas Eve rites, Archbishop Pizzaballa had to cross an Israeli military checkpoint in Jerusalem.

In recent weeks, there has been a spike in violence, after the shooting of Israeli soldiers and settlers by the Islamic militant group Hamas. On the international front, the nations are divided on the claims to Jerusalem as their capital by both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

But on Christmas Day, there was peace in Bethlehem, although Palestinian security vehicles and personnel were seen positioned around the square. As the time for Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity neared, Palestinians and pilgrims gathered in groups around the plaza. Some were holding lighted candles and singing “Silent Night.”

“This is a day of celebration,” said Palestinian Tourism Minister Maaya. “And we have hope that one day, we wll be able to celebrate like everyone else.”

It is truly ironic that right here in Bethlehem, where the angels first announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds and called for peace on earth, peace remains uncertain and could explode into violence at anytime. But there is always hope, here as well in other parts of the globe, for the peace of which the angels sang on that first Christmas night centuries ago.