Christmas celebrations in the ancient town of Bethlehem have resumed this year, albeit with some limitations in place to avoid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Scout bands playing drums and carrying flags in Manger Square brought Bethlehem back to its customary marching band parades and street festivals.
A midnight Mass was also planned at the Church of the Nativity, which houses the grotto where Jesus was born, with Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, officiating.
Pizzaballa expressed his optimism for a slowing of the pandemic as he departed Jerusalem for Bethlehem on Friday.
“We need pilgrims to bring us life in our communities,” he said. “We need to find this balance and we are all working for this because it’s very sad to see the Old City [of Jerusalem] almost empty.”
The mayor of Bethlehem, Anton Salman, expressed optimism that the Christmas celebrations in 2021 would be better than last year’s when even local citizens stayed from home owing to lockdown restrictions.
“Last year, our festival was virtual, but this year it will be face-to-face with popular participation,” Salman said.
However, Israel’s prohibition on practically all inbound aviation traffic has kept overseas tourists away for the second year in a row. The restriction is intended to slow the spread of the extremely contagious Omicron form, which has caused Christmas celebrations all around the world to be disrupted.
In November, Israel relaxed a year-and-a-half ban that had prevented most international tourists out, but it was forced to reinstate it after only a few weeks as the Omicron variety spread over the world.
Tourism is one of Bethlehem’s key sources of revenue, and the city’s citizens have been affected particularly hard by the dearth of visitors.
Local tour guide Ibrahim Salameh told the news agency that he had been unemployed for the previous two years.
“We have lost trust in the tourism industry, nobody has enough trust to stay,” Salameh said, adding that many acquaintances in the tourism industry had quit in favor of other sectors including agriculture.
Salameh claimed he was “fortunate” to secure a tour at the beginning of November when Israel allowed tourism to resume for a limited time. “All of a sudden, we started breathing again, and everything was gone.”
He went on to say that, while the gathering in the main square was just a tenth of what it used to be, the Christmas celebrations this year appeared to be more lively than in 2020 when businesses and venues were closed.
“This gives me a little bit of hope that things will get better,” Salameh said.
