NEWS STORY: Bethlehem Cancels Most Christmas Activities

c. 2000 Religion News Service JERUSALEM _ Bethlehem, the traditional site of the birth of Jesus, saw thousands of pilgrims flock to the city last year for Christmas celebrations, but has canceled all of this year’s holiday festivities with the exception of some worship services and a traditional Christmas Eve procession of religious figures. The […]

c. 2000 Religion News Service

JERUSALEM _ Bethlehem, the traditional site of the birth of Jesus, saw thousands of pilgrims flock to the city last year for Christmas celebrations, but has canceled all of this year’s holiday festivities with the exception of some worship services and a traditional Christmas Eve procession of religious figures.

The Bethlehem 2000 Project of the Palestinian National Authority made the announcement over the weekend as Israeli army helicopters and artillery continued their intermittent battle against Palestinian snipers and stone-throwers at various points around the city of Jesus’ birth.


“This year, Bethlehem will not be able to celebrate Christmas as planned, and there will be no Christmas festival,” said Christiane Dabdoub Nasser, head of church relations in the Bethlehem 2000 project. “The children will not have their gifts, the worshippers will be in mourning and the pilgrims will be absent.”

“Like every year on Dec. 24, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem will make his solemn entry into Bethlehem and the Nativity Church, and Midnight Mass will be scheduled as usual. But last year’s buzz and excitement will be something of the past.”

An extensive series of Advent Concerts and other cultural events had been planned in advance of the Christmas celebrations to showcase the multimillion-dollar restoration of the ancient city, only just completed.

Guest choirs were also to perform in the city on Christmas Eve, visiting from as far away as Russia and the United States, said Nasser. But all of those events have been canceled. New Year’s Eve, which was marked last year in Bethlehem by fireworks and the release of thousands of peace doves into the air, will be noted this year only by a moment of silence.

The famous Shepherd’s Field in the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Sahour, where tradition holds that angels announced the birth of Jesus, has been turned into an impromptu campsite for families displaced from damaged homes by recent Israeli shelling, said Nasser.

Israel says its shelling of the Bethlehem area’s Christian enclaves has been in response to shooting attacks by Palestinian snipers on military outposts and the Jewish residential neighborhood of Gilo on the fringes of Jerusalem. But Palestinians say the Israeli response has been out of proportion to the attacks.

“While Israelis carry on with their lives we have every aspect of our life disrupted, from electricity and water cuts to food shortages and medical services,” said Nasser. “Bethlehem is under siege. And even the tourists who dare to come are often blocked from coming in.”


Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah so far has remained silent about the church’s plans for the upcoming Christmas season. But the expectation is that religious events will continue as usual, while the fanfare around them will be eliminated.

“The solemn procession and entry into Bethlehem is part of the traditional status quo for 150 years and the ceremony inside of the church will be normal; we will not cancel Christmas Mass,” said Father Raed Abussahlin, a spokesman for the Latin patriarch.

The dearth of tourists in Bethlehem might give more local people an opportunity to attend the Mass at the ancient Church of the Nativity, a structure that dates back to Byzantine times, Abussahlin said, looking for a silver lining in the clouds.

Usually the church is packed with dignitaries and tourists, leaving little room for local Christians themselves.

“Humanly speaking, we may despair over what we are suffering now,” added the Palestinian priest. “But we are still hoping against hope that these will be the last days before our freedom. If Christmas means salvation, then we are awaiting salvation, which means justice, and for us as Palestinians, independence.”

DEAEND FLETCHER

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