Christmas cheer at Jesus's traditional birthplace of Bethlehem
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa participates in Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Filing past a 16-meter (52-ft) Christmas tree in Manger Square, visitors from all over the world made a Christmas Eve pilgrimage to Bethlehem, the town revered as the birthplace of Jesus.
The Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is enjoying its busiest Christmas in years, with hotels nearly fully booked and the security situation relatively calm.
Members of a Palestinian marching band parade during Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
Lines of pilgrims squeezed through a narrow sandstone entrance to the Church of the Nativity to visit the grotto where Christian faithful believe Jesus was born.
"This place is wonderful. I feel like the real Christmas (is celebrated) here," said Joseph Ahlan, a pilgrim from Malaysia.
Maria Moeva, a visitor from Bulgaria, said she could feel "all the passion of the people who are here to celebrate the birth of Christ".
A clergyman holds a cross during Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led an annual procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and will later celebrate Midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity, originally built in the 4th century.
In Manger Square, visitors were entertained by choirs singing carols, bagpipe players and a Palestinian scouts' marching band.
While the security situation has eased since a wave of Palestinian knife and car-ramming attacks in 2015, Israeli roadblocks and a six-meter Israeli-built concrete separation barrier that snakes around the town are still part of the Bethlehem vista.
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa waves as he arrives to attend Christmas celebrations, at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Palestinians see the barrier as a land grab, in territory they are seeking as part of a state of their own. Israel, which captured the West Bank in a 1967 war, says the fences and walls it has erected help prevent Palestinian attacks.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa attends a mass at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas eve, in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Raneen SawaftaThe acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa attends a mass at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas eve, in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa QawasmaThe acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a mass at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas eve, in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa QawasmaThe acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa participates in Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa QawasmaPeople attend Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa QawasmaPeople attend Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Raneen SawaftaClergymen attend Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa QawasmaPeople attend Christmas celebrations at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Raneen SawaftaThe acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a mass at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas eve, in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
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