THOUSANDS of people gathered in Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Christmas Eve, signalling a long-awaited revival of festive spirit after two years of subdued celebrations caused by the war in Gaza.
AP reported on Thursday that families filled the square where Christians believe Jesus was born, marking a rare moment of collective joy after a prolonged period of hardship.
The city had previously cancelled Christmas festivities during the conflict, but this year the towering Christmas tree returned to the square, replacing a wartime nativity display that had depicted the infant Jesus amid rubble and barbed wire as a symbol of Gaza’s suffering.
The renewed celebrations began with the traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the most senior Catholic leader in the Holy Land. Addressing a crowd of Christians and Muslims, he called for “a Christmas full of light”.
Pizzaballa said he brought greetings from Gaza’s small Christian community, where he celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass days earlier and witnessed a strong desire to rebuild despite widespread destruction.
“We, all together, we decide to be the light, and the light of Bethlehem is the light of the world,” he said.
While the mood was festive, the impact of the war remained evident across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, particularly in Bethlehem, where tourism is the backbone of the local economy.
According to the municipal authorities, about 80 per cent of residents in the largely Muslim city depend on tourism-related businesses.
Foreign visitors were still scarce, but residents said signs of recovery were beginning to emerge.
“Today is a day of joy, a day of hope, the beginning of the return of normal life here,” said Georgette Jackaman, a Bethlehem tour guide. Along with her husband, Michael Jackaman, she comes from a long-established Christian family in the city.
For their two children, aged two-and-a-half and 10 months, it was the first Christmas celebrated in a festive atmosphere.
During the war, the family turned to selling Palestinian handicrafts online to support those who had lost their livelihoods. Bethlehem’s unemployment rate surged from 14 per cent to 65 per cent, Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati said earlier this month.
For visitors, the experience carried deep emotional weight. French tourist Mona Riewer said being in Bethlehem sharpened her understanding of the season’s meaning.
“Christmas is like hope in very dark situations,” she said.
Despite a ceasefire in Gaza that began in October, tensions remain high in the West Bank, where Israeli military raids continue as part of what Israel describes as a crackdown on militants.
Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have reached their highest level since the United Nations humanitarian office began recording such incidents in 2006.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, and the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the territory, including Bethlehem.
As economic hardship deepened, around 4,000 residents have left Bethlehem in search of work, the mayor said, underscoring concerns over the steady decline of the Christian population, which now makes up less than two per cent of the West Bank’s roughly three million residents.
For many families, the return of public celebrations marked a symbolic step towards normality. Former tourism logistics coordinator Fadi Zoughbi said his children were thrilled to see marching bands fill the streets once again, with Palestinian flags and tartan-clad bagpipes on display. During the war, scout groups marched in silence as a form of protest.
Irene Kirmiz, who grew up in Bethlehem and now lives in Ramallah, described the scout parade as one of her most cherished Christmas traditions. Her teenage daughter plays the tenor drum with the Ramallah scouts, though the family had to wake before dawn and endure hours at Israeli checkpoints to attend.
In the past two years, church leaders in Jerusalem had urged worshippers to avoid “unnecessarily festive activities”, encouraging a focus on the spiritual meaning of Christmas and prayers for “a just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land”.
Elsewhere in the region, Christmas events reflected both resilience and remembrance. In Nazareth, northern Israel, Santas filled the streets as the traditional parade returned under sunny skies. Children took part in live nativity scenes and lined the streets for floats and sweets.
In Gaza, incense drifted through the only Catholic church during Christmas Eve Mass, accompanied by children’s activities despite the compound having been struck by shell fragments in July, killing three people. Israel said the strike was accidental and expressed regret.
On the outskirts of Damascus, hundreds of worshippers prepared to attend Christmas services at a Greek Orthodox church that was the site of a deadly suicide bombing in June. Earlier in the week, congregants gathered to light a neon Christmas tree in its courtyard.
At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV presided over his first Midnight Mass at St Peter’s Basilica, addressing some 6,000 worshippers inside the church and another 5,000 watching from screens in the rain-soaked square outside.
In his homily, the first US-born pope reflected on the meaning of the Christmas story.
“In the face of the suffering of the poor, (God) sends one who is defenseless to be the strength to rise again,” he said, describing the birth of Jesus as a profound expression of wisdom and hope.
The Mass featured readings in multiple languages, including Latin, and began with children from different continents placing flowers at the figure of the baby Jesus.
Pope Leo is due to return to the basilica on Christmas Day for Mass followed by his traditional blessing from the central balcony.
Across the world, Christmas was also marked beyond churches. In New York City, people took to the ice rinks, while in Northern Ireland, charity swimmers plunged into icy seas.
Along Florida’s Space Coast, hundreds of surfers dressed as Santa Claus rode waves off Cocoa Beach, drawing thousands of spectators in festive costumes. The annual event raises funds for the Florida Surf Museum and a charity supporting people with cancer. - December 25, 2025
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