Bethlehem, West Bank: As midnight approaches on Christmas Eve, the ancient hymn “The Night of Christmas” will once again echo through the grotto of the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians
believe Jesus Christ was born.
“On the night of Christmas, war is buried. On the night of Christmas, love is born,” the choir sings during the traditional midnight Mass. This year, those words carry renewed weight for Bethlehem’s Christians, coming after months of war and amid a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
“It reminds us that no matter the darkness or the difficulties, there is always a light,” said Joseph Hazboun, conductor of the local Catholic lay choir. “Hope is always alive.”
For the past two years, Christmas in Bethlehem had been muted, stripped of decorations, festivities and music as fighting in Gaza cast a long shadow over the city. This year, however, families have returned to Manger Square, bringing with them cautious optimism and much-needed economic relief.
On recent evenings, the square has been buzzing with festive lights, a Christmas market and performances for children.
“You can see the town come alive again,” said Zoya Thalgia, a Bethlehem resident. “Everyone is happy. Everyone is coming out to celebrate, regardless of religion or views.”
War’s toll on Bethlehem
Tourism has long been the backbone of Bethlehem’s economy, with about 80% of residents dependent on pilgrimages and Christmas visitors, according to local authorities. The benefits typically ripple across the West Bank, which has struggled with poverty under Israeli occupation since 1967.
But during the Gaza war, unemployment in Bethlehem surged from 14% to 65%, Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati said earlier this month. In previous years, churches marked Christmas as a form of protest, displaying Nativity scenes showing the infant Jesus surrounded by rubble and barbed wire.
Despite the ceasefire that began in October, tensions remain high across the West Bank. Israel says it is intensifying operations against militants, while attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have reached their highest levels since the UN began tracking such data in 2006.
Holding on to faith
For Odette Al Sliby, a lifelong choir singer from Bethlehem, performing at midnight Mass in the grotto is deeply moving. Speaking to AP, he said, “It’s very holy the place, the atmosphere, the words,” she said. Singing, she added, is both an expression of faith and endurance. “As Christians in the Holy Land, just being here carries a message.”
Christians now make up less than 2% of the West Bank’s roughly 3 million residents, a population that continues to shrink. As economic conditions worsened during the war, about 4,000 people left Bethlehem in search of work, the mayor said, part of a broader decline in Christian communities across the Middle East.
Hazboun said his prayer this Christmas is that Bethlehem’s Christian presence does not diminish further. The revival of festivities across the West Bank, including a packed Christmas market in Ramallah, has offered a rare moment of joy, particularly for children.
Earlier this month, Bethlehem lit its community Christmas tree in Manger Square for the first time in two years. While images from Gaza continue to haunt Palestinians, the celebration has provided a brief respite.
“This is the land of peace,” Hazboun said. “It is where the Prince of Peace was born. We continue to pray and hope that one day, all of us will truly live in peace.”
