\u201cIt\u2019s like a symbol for resilience,\u201d said Abeer Shtaya (27) who works at Al-Zaytoonah University of Science and Technology in Salfit. She traveled 100km with university students because \u201cwe want to celebrate and be with our brothers and sisters in Bethlehem to enjoy this day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Shahen (43) who operates a ceramic store on the square, described the celebration as \u201ca message for the world that it\u2019s calm\u201d after serving his first customers in months.<\/p>\n
The festive atmosphere was palpable as families with small children filled balconies and rooftops to catch a glimpse of the illuminated tree. Nuns watched from rooftops while sounds of laughter filled the air despite intermittent rain.<\/p>\n
![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AFP__20251206__87BU9KM__v2__HighRes__PalestinianIsraelConflictReligionChristmas.jpg\")
Covered in red and gold baubles, the Bethlehem Christmas tree, standing meters away from the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square, drew thousands of attendees, including Christians and Muslims from Palestinian territories, Israel and beyond. PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n
For some visitors, the ceremony carried deep emotional significance after years of conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event didn\u2019t happen for the last two years because of the war and it\u2019s quite emotional after two years of nothing but war and death,\u201d said Liyu Lu (50) who travelled from northern Israel near the Lebanese border. Originally from China but living in Israel for decades, she was accompanied by Gary Lau, a Christian businessman staying in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing here, with the festivities, is something very nice and special,\u201d said Lau (51), adding he was \u201ctaking in the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christian pilgrims, particularly from Asia, South America and Eastern Europe, have slowly returned in recent months. Fabien Safar, guide and director of Terra Dei, which organizes Holy Land pilgrimages, expects small groups for Christmas this year with some 2026 bookings already made.<\/p>\n
WATCH:<\/p>\n
Watch as the Bethlehem Christmas tree is illuminated for the first time in two years. VIDEO: AFP<\/p>\n
Safar anticipates a real recovery in 2027, \u201cbut this obviously depends on how the situation evolves\u201d in Gaza and Lebanon. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued strikes on Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Pilgrims \u201cremain afraid because there\u2019s no official end to the war\u201d in Gaza, Safar noted, adding concerns about Lebanon\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n
The conflict has devastated Bethlehem\u2019s tourism-dependent economy, which had just recovered from COVID-19 impacts in 2022 before the Gaza war erupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cCOVID was bad but nothing like the last two years,\u201d Shahen said from his ceramic store.<\/p>\n
Travel challenges compound the difficulties. Israeli military checkpoints create long queues throughout the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Violence in the region has surged since the Gaza war began and continues despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas that started in October.<\/p>\n
Many visitors, including musician Lu, spent hours travelling to reach Bethlehem. She woke at 06:00 for a 07:00 bus with a large group, arriving at 12:30 without incident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Palestinian Territories\u00a0\u2013 Christmas cheer returned to the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ on Saturday as Bethlehem in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,17420,32279,17531],"class_list":{"0":"post-59128","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","11":"tag-church-of-the-nativity","12":"tag-israel-gaza-conflict","13":"tag-top"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59128","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=59128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}