With no Christmas tree or decorations at the Church of the Nativity, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, there was no holiday spirit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday.
In central Bethlehem, the Terra Sancta scout group wearing red scarves marched down the main shopping street, where vendors sold nougat and kebabs.
The sweet sound of children singing Christmas carols filled the air, a sharp contrast to the somber messages on the banners they held: “We want life, not death” and “Stop the Gaza genocide now!”
For the second year in a row, Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem are overshadowed by war.
A large Christmas tree usually stands in Manger Square, opposite the Church of the Nativity, which was built on a cave where Christians believe Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago.
But like last year, the Bethlehem community had opted for modest celebrations out of respect for the Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
For Christians in the Holy Land, who number about 185,000 in Israel and 47,000 in the Palestinian territories, prayer can offer comfort and hope for a better future.
“We will pray and ask God to end our suffering and give this part of the world the peace we expect, the peace that Jesus brought to the world,” said Anton Salman, the mayor of Bethlehem.
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who led Mass in Gaza on Sunday, delivered a similar message of hope as he prepared to preside over midnight Mass in Bethlehem.
“I just arrived from Gaza yesterday. I saw everything destroyed, poverty, catastrophe,” he said.
“But I also saw life – they don’t give up. So you shouldn’t give up either. Never,” Pizzaballa added in a speech at the Bethlehem Peace Center, a cultural venue.
“We are stronger, we belong to the light, not the darkness,” he said while standing next to a Palestinian flag. “Next year we want to see the biggest Christmas tree ever.”
