{"id":55034,"date":"2025-12-08T08:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T08:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/55034\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T08:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T08:50:09","slug":"christmas-lights-return-to-bethlehem-after-a-two-year-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/55034\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas lights return to Bethlehem after a two-year hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>HOLY LAND\u00a0\u2014 After a forced absence that lasted two years, the city of Bethlehem has regained its festive glow. On Saturday evening, the Christmas tree in Manger Square was lit, marking the start of a season that has long stood as a universal symbol of peace and hope.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s celebration\u2014attended by clergy, Palestinian officials, diplomats, and crowds of residents and visitors\u2014carried added significance. The\u00a0City\u00a0of the Nativity, burdened first by the pandemic and then by a war whose heavy shadows still hang over the land, has once again proclaimed its light.<\/p>\n<p>Bethlehem Municipality\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youm7.com\/story\/2025\/12\/7\/%D8%B4%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%85-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86\/7224819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">chose<\/a> this year\u2019s theme from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: \u201cArise, shine, for your light has come.\u201d A message meant to affirm that, despite the wounds, Christmas\u00a0remains\u00a0a space for hope at a time when the sky feels weighed down with questions.<\/p>\n<p>Bethlehem Mayor\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100064364122359\/posts\/pfbid02kmcRUPyhEvEmYtcaFhu71QjeVycMW8rhc2U4NBeUjiKwjhgteBYv5aAcAWTaEgo6l\/?app=fbl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Maher\u00a0Canawati<\/a>\u00a0said in a speech during the ceremony that the city \u201chas lived through difficult years, beginning with a pandemic that shut down the world, followed by a war that threatens our very presence on this land.\u201d He stressed that lighting the tree this year is not merely a festive act but a declaration of will, adding: \u201cLight will prevail no matter how deep the darkness becomes, and Bethlehem will remain everyone\u2019s home\u2014safe and open, as it has always been.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the ongoing situation in the region, the return of the celebrations has brought back a warmth long absent from the narrow alleys of the ancient city, allowing it to reclaim something of its annual rhythm that draws attention each December.<\/p>\n<p>The city, which has long stood witness to the succession of both holidays and upheavals, seemed on the night of the illumination to be catching its breath\u2014telling the world that there is still room for light in this place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOLY LAND\u00a0\u2014 After a forced absence that lasted two years, the city of Bethlehem has regained its festive&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-55034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}