Christians flock to Bethlehem for Christmas festivities

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Pilgrims from around the world gather today in the biblical city of Bethlehem, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, to celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land.

Thousands of Palestinians and foreigners converged on the “little town” in the Israeli-controlled West Bank, with Christmas Eve festivities taking place in and around the Church of the Nativity.

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the most senior Roman Catholic official in the Middle East, traveled from the holy city to Bethlehem this after.

He was later to lead midnight mass at the church, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expected to attend.

After crossing through the security barrier, Pizzaballa says it is a difficult time but there is reason for “hope.”

“We see in this period the weakness of politics, enormous economic problems, unemployment, problems in families — so when we look at this reality, we could say that there is nothing to hope for,” he saud.

“On the other side, when I visit families, parishes, communities, I see a lot of commitment… for the future.

“Christmas is for us to celebrate the hope.”

In the square outside the church, a few thousand people watch in the winter sun as Palestinian scouts paraded to the sound of drums. A group of 20 New Zealanders sings carols in front of the 15-meter Christmas tree.

In the morning tourists queued to visit the grotto inside the church, believed to be the exact site where Jesus was born.

— AFP