Jesus’ birthplace barely had time to recover from the pandemic before the Gaza war came. The usually lavish Christmas celebration in Bethlehem in the West Bank is largely canceled this year.
The high weekends usually represent a welcome addition of visitors and trade in the Palestinian city. But because of the Gaza war, there will be no Christmas tree or Christmas lights on Krubban’s square this year.
– This year, in the absence of a Christmas tree and lights, there is only darkness, says monk John Vinh to the AP news agency.
Last year, the small town was able to celebrate Christmas reasonably normally, after two years of severe pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021. It does live with strict Israeli border controls, but the religious connotations of the name Bethlehem are still strong enough to attract thousands of spendthrift visitors from all over the world in quiet times .
Tourism accounts for about two-thirds of Bethlehem’s income, and most of that money flows in during the Christmas season, AP reports.
At other times of the year, there are hardly any guests in the hotels, if they are open at all. A building boom occurred in the city in connection with the 90s peace process, but nowadays many investments echo empty.
In recent years, the harsh Israeli occupation has often been the great bane of the hospitality industry. But this year, the silence is partly self-chosen.
– We can’t just put up a tree and celebrate as usual, when people in Gaza don’t even have a roof over their heads anymore, says restaurateur Alaa Salamah next to the famous Krubban Square to AP.
FACTSBethlehem
Bethlehem is a city located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just south of Jerusalem.
The community of Bethlehem already existed during the Late Bronze Age. According to Christian belief, this is where Jesus was born and therefore the city has become a religious pilgrimage site.
The place was already mentioned in the 4th century, so that the Roman emperor Constantine the Great then ordered that the Church of the Nativity be built over the small cave where Jesus was born.
The church has changed a lot over the centuries, but even today visitors can go down into a small crypt under the church which is supposed to be the birthplace of Jesus.
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