BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Thousands of people gathered in Bethlehem Manger Square Christmas Eve as families there and elsewhere across the Holy Land heralded a much-needed boost in festive spirit after two years of subdued celebrations due to war in Gaza.
In the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV presided over his first midnight mass in St. Peter's Basilica. In his sermon, he admired the “wisdom” of the Christmas story about the baby Jesus, born to save mankind.
“In the face of the suffering of the poor, (God) sends one who is defenseless to have the strength to rise again,” the first US pope said in the packed basilica.
Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, Christmas celebrations canceled during the war. But on Wednesday, the giant Christmas tree returned to Manger Square, temporarily replacing a military nativity scene containing Baby Jesus, surrounded by rubble and barbed wire as a sign of respect for Gaza's suffering.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizza BallThe Holy Land's top Catholic leader kicked off this year's celebrations with a traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, calling for a “Christmas full of light.”
Pizzaballa said he came with greetings from Gaza's tiny Christian communitywhere he celebrated pre-Christmas mass on Sunday. In the devastation he saw a desire to restore.
“We all decide together to be the light, and the light of Bethlehem is the light of the world,” he told thousands of people, Christians and Muslims.
Despite the festive mood, the impact of the war in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is acute, especially in Bethlehem, where about 80% of the city's residents are Muslim-majority. depend on tourism-related businesseslocal government reports.
There were only a few foreigners, but some residents said they were starting to see signs of change as tourism slowly returned.
“Hope in very dark situations”
“Today is a day of joy, a day of hope, the beginning of a return to normalcy here,” said Bethlehem resident Georgette Jackaman, a tour guide. She and her husband, Michael Jackaman, another tour guide, come from multi-generational Christian families in Bethlehem.
This is the first real Christmas for their two children, ages 2.5 and 10 months.
During the war, the Jackamans decided to create a website selling Palestinian handicrafts to support those who had lost their livelihoods. The city's unemployment rate jumped from 14% to 65%, Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canavati said earlier this month.
French visitor Mona River said her stay in Bethlehem helped her understand the meaning of the holiday.
“Christmas is about hope in very dark situations,” she said.
Despite a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that began in October, tensions remain high in the West Bank as Israeli military raids crack down on militants. Israeli settler attacks attacks against Palestinians have reached the highest level since the UN humanitarian office began collecting data in 2006.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast War. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in some parts of the territory, including Bethlehem.
Due to rising poverty and unemployment, about 4,000 people have left Bethlehem in search of work, the mayor said. a disturbing trend for Christianswho are leaving the region en masse. Christians make up less than 2% of the West Bank's roughly 3 million population.
The beginning of the return to normal life
Fadi Zoubi, who previously oversaw logistics for the tour groups, said his children were thrilled to see marching bands parade through the streets of Bethlehem with Palestinian flags and tartan draped over their bagpipes. For the past two years, the Scouts have marched silently to protest the war.
Irene Kirmiz, who grew up in Bethlehem and lives in Ramallah, said the Girl Scout parade is one of her favorite Christmas traditions. Her 15-year-old daughter plays the tenor drum with the Ramallah Scouts.
But her family had to wake up at 5am to attend the parade, after waiting three hours at Israeli checkpoints. Previously, the trip took 40 minutes without checkpoints that make travel increasingly difficult for the Palestinians, she said.
Over the past two years, the heads of churches in Jerusalem called on communities to refuse “any unnecessary holiday events.” They called on priests and faithful to focus on the spiritual meaning of Christmas and urged them to “pray fervently for a just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land.”
Other events in the Middle East demonstrate the resilience of believers
Santas were everywhere as the traditional parade returned to Nazareth in northern Israel, revered by Christians as the place where the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.
A hilltop town full of children. Some were filmed in live nativity scenes, while others stood along the route waiting for floats and candy in the bright, warm sun.
Incense wafted over the packed pews during Christmas Mass at Gaza's only Catholic church, where holiday children's programs also took place. The Holy Family complex was hit by Israeli shell fragments in July, killing three people. Israel called it an accident and expressed regret.
On the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, hundreds of worshipers planned to return for Christmas mass at the Greek Orthodox church where 25 people were killed in June in a suicide attack blamed on Islamic State militants. On Tuesday, they gathered light up a neon image of a Christmas tree in the yard.
Holidays around the world
At St. Peter's Basilica, about 6,000 people prayed inside the huge basilica, decorated with poinsettias, while another 5,000 watched the Mass on giant screens in the rain-soaked plaza outside.
The celebration, with readings and sermons in different languages, including Latin, began with children from different continents laying flowers at the figure of the baby Jesus.
Leo will return to the basilica for Mass on Christmas Day, after which he will receive the traditional blessing from the loggia.
People around the world enjoyed Christmas traditions outside houses of worship Wednesday, from ice skating in New York to a charity swim in the cold seas off the coast of Northern Ireland.
On Florida's Space Coast, Santa Claus rode surfboards rather than a sleigh. Hundreds of surfers dressed as Santa hit the waves off Cocoa Beach in what has become an annual tradition for the past 17 years.
Santa surfing brought thousands of spectators to the beach dressed in Christmas costumes, dancing to live music and taking part in a holiday costume contest.
The event raises money for the Florida Surf Museum and a nonprofit organization that helps people with cancer.
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Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Vatican City; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Ariel Shalit in Nazareth, Israel; Michael Schneider in Orlando, Florida, and Giovanna Dell'Orto in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
