Thousands of Christians from all over the world made a pilgrimage to Bethlehem in the West Bank to celebrate Christmas, the festival marking the birth of Jesus Christ,
after two years of COVID-related restrictions.
Worshippers converged close to the Church of the Nativity to visit the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born.
For the past two years, the COVID pandemic kept international visitors away from Bethlehem, a town whose economy depends largely on tourism.
With visitors back this year, hotels are full, although the numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels. Shopkeepers have reported brisk business and celebration spirits are high in Bethlehem, AlJazeera reports.
At noon (10:00 GMT) on Saturday, a traditional procession started from Jerusalem and arrived in the small town of Bethlehem in the afternoon.
The procession which was led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa passed through a checkpoint in Israel’s separation wall in the West Bank.
“We are living in very difficult challenges,”
But the message of Christmas is a message of peace,” Pizzaballa said in his sermon at the church, referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Ukraine.
Hundreds of people walked through Manger Square throughout the day for the Christmas Eve celebrations. Bands pounding on drums and playing bagpipes marched through the area, as foreign tourists joyfully moved about snapping selfies in front of Bethlehem's large Christmas tree.
Not even the cool gray weather, and intermittent rain shower, could dampen the spirits of tourists, though many of them seized the opportunity to enter shops and restaurants to warm up. However, the crowd lessened by nightfall.
Religion. Society and Culture.
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