Middle East
Christmas in War: Procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is traditionally considered the birthplace of Jesus. photo
© Mahmoud Illean/AP/dpa
Every year people make a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity in the historic city. This year, however, things are much quieter in view of the war in the Holy Land. It’s not just the pilgrims from all over the world who are missing.
In view of the Gaza war, a much smaller Christmas procession of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
As every year, the procession began at the Jaffa Gate in the historic Old City of Jerusalem. However, Cardinal Pierbatista Pizzaballa, as the highest representative of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, was only accompanied by a few Franciscans and a few other believers on the short drive to Bethlehem, a few kilometers south.
In the historic city, midnight mass is said in the world-famous Church of the Nativity. Under the altar is the grotto where, according to tradition, Jesus Christ was born more than 2,000 years ago.
Usually tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world
The city, where tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world usually crowd at Christmas, is deserted because of the war and the Israeli lockdown. The large Christmas tree that usually stands in front of the Church of the Nativity during Advent is missing. The heads of the churches in Jerusalem had already decided in November that there should be no Christmas decorations in the Holy Land because of the war.
On the way to Bethlehem, the procession should, as every year, make a short stop at the tomb of Patriarch Rachel, which Christians, Jews and Muslims alike venerate as a shrine. Right next to it, Israeli soldiers will then open a large metal gate through the up to nine meter high concrete wall between Jerusalem and the West Bank. This gate is only opened for Christian processions. The participants then have to go back through other Israeli checkpoints, which often do not allow vehicles through.