JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Encouraged by a ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas in October, Bethlehem brought back its annual Christmas celebrations. After a pause of two years, Manger Square lit up again with parades, music and cheers, and the Church of the Nativity was full again. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi was at the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem and sent us this report.
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing in non-English language).
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Worshipers crammed into the prayer hall of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity to perform midnight mass - the pews full, some stood, others sat on the floor, heads bowed, rosaries in hand, the image of Jesus on the cross on a colorful stained glass overhead.
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: The church's ancient courtyard twinkled with gold fairy lights and a red-lit Christmas tree. People lined up patiently to receive communion after hearing the Latin Jerusalem patriarch sermon. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa had just visited Gaza where a war has raged for two years. He said he brought a message of hope from the Strip.
PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA: Clearly, despite the cessation of the war, suffering is still present in Gaza. Yet the proclamation of Christmas resounds. When I met them, I was struck by their strength and desire to start over.
AL-SHALCHI: Earlier, Muslims and Christians gathered for the daytime Christmas Eve celebrations.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARCHING BAND MUSIC)
AL-SHALCHI: The traditional Bethlehem scouts parade snaked through the city, hundreds flanking it from either side. Dressed in sharp uniforms, young men and women played the bagpipes, others, the drums. Small children tried to march in a straight line alongside.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARCHING BAND MUSIC)
AL-SHALCHI: Palestinians here said today they were allowing themselves some relief. Asil Jahjah said they needed this day to let go of some of the sadness.
ASIL JAHJAH: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "We can finally take a moment to be happy with others," she says. While the majority of the crowd was Palestinian, a few foreign tourists made it. Pastor Mateoda Madabwa (ph) and her husband came all the way from Malawi.
MATEODA MADABWA: It's Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Laughter).
MADABWA: This is Christmas (laughter).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: This is Christmas.
AL-SHALCHI: Wearing matching festive Christmas jammies and reindeer antlers, the 50-year-old said that as a Christian, this trip was a dream come true.
MADABWA: Just to see the places and walk the land where Jesus walked.
AL-SHALCHI: Bethlehem has relied on tourism for years, welcoming pilgrims and tourists. Its economy took a hit after the war, but Bethlehem's 30-year-old Basil Awad said he was hopeful for a new beginning. His family has set up a coffee kiosk in Manger Square his whole life.
BASIL AWAD: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "Maybe our sorrows will be forgotten soon, God willing," Awad says.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARCHING BAND MUSIC)
AL-SHALCHI: Bethlehem is in the occupied West Bank, and today, the consequences of the war in Gaza still loom large. Palestinians here say life has become suffocating. The Israeli military has ramped up raids in cities, saying they are rooting out militants. It's also increased the number of checkpoints and severely restricts movement in the territory. Awad said he wants what he described as a prison to end.
AWAD: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "I just want peace and to feel safe," he says. Forty-six-year-old Hanan Hreish is from nearby Ramallah. She came with friends.
HANAN HREISH: It took us 3.5 hours from Ramallah. All the checkpoints were closed, but we persisted to come.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELLS CHIMING)
AL-SHALCHI: By nightfall, the crowd thinned quickly, families going home early, afraid to get stuck at those checkpoints. But as the bells of the Church of the Nativity rang through Manger Square, Palestinians said they were grateful for a moment to remember what life was like before the war.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELLS CHIMING)
AL-SHALCHI: Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Bethlehem. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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