World

Christians Celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

by Dave Keating | December 24, 2008 at 10:00 am

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The yearly pilgrimage by Christians to the town of Bethlehem has attracted its usual amount of devotees. Christians believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town now located in the Israeli-controlled occupied territory of the West Bank.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims have flocked to the West Bank town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas.

The faithful are gathering around Manger Square, which marks the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to attend a midnight mass Wednesday night. Earlier Wednesday, a band of Palestinian boy scouts kicked off the holiday celebrations with a performance of Christmas music.

Security is expected to be tight through the holiday season. Pilgrims must also pass through an Israeli army checkpoint in order to get into Bethlehem, which is separated from Jerusalem by an eight-meter concrete wall - part of the barrier Israel has constructed around the West Bank.

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katiegumbo

at 18:01 on December 24th, 2008

This was late October during the Olive Harvest Festival. Manger Square had a great atmosphere that day. A Christian wedding was taking place in the Church of the Nativity while Palestinian Muslims celebrated their own special occasion outside. Everybody seemed to be mingling on friendly terms - I was pleasantly surprised!

katiegumbo has contributed a photo to this story.