Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas in Bethlehem

Some more-or-less random YouTube clips mostly of this year's news coverage ...

Thousands in Bethlehem for traditional Christmas procession. Thousands of Palestinians and tourists flock into the West Bank city of Bethlehem to mark Christmas in the "little town" where many believe Jesus Christ was born. The traditional Christmas procession headed by the Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal marched through the city, as tourists and Palestinians -- Muslims and Christians alike -- lined the route to welcome it. Duration: 00:50

Thousands flock to Bethlehem for Christmas AFP story - scout bands playing bagpipes

The scouts bands, from Ramallah and other West Bank cities as well as Bethlehem, march in parades for Christmas, Easter and the big Muslim holidays, according to a BBC News audio slideshow from March 2010: "The scouts and marching bands are a legacy of the British mandate from 1920 to 1948, but it is the Scottish cultural connection that now resonates with some Palestinians, who see historical parallels with their own struggle against Israeli occupation."

Published on Dec 24, 2012

Midnight Mass Celebrated in Bethlehem. Midnight mass was celebrated at the Church of St. Catherine, in Bethlehem, the West Bank. The church sits next to the Church of the Nativity, which is built above the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born.

Faithful in Bethlehem as Christmas mass urges peace. Thousands of people stream into the West Bank city of Bethlehem to mark Christmas, as the Latin Patriarch urges "men of good will" to seek peace in the Middle East.Duration: 00:59

General background on Bethlehem, tourism and Christmas on the Jewish News One TV channel:

Here in Bethlehem, the Christmas season is a highpoint of the year. Thousands of visitors travel to the Holy Land to celebrate the holiday in one of Christianity's most revered sites. number shrinking - iraeli military control - bleak economic prospects

Wynne Mancini of JN1 cites iraeli military control - bleak economic as reasons for exodus of Christians from Bethlehem, which is now only about 30 percent Christian.

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