Feature: Festive Christmas re-embraces Bethlehem after 2-year COVID-19 hiatus

Children dressed in Christmas-themed clothing are seen during Christmas eve celebrations at the Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Dec. 24, 2022. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Once again, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem is bathed in Christmas celebrations with a large number of tourists after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

In the past week, dozens of thousands of foreign Christian pilgrims arrived in the West Bank city, known as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, to join Christmas celebrations and perform prayers in the Church of the Nativity.

In the center of the church square, a giant 15-meter-high Christmas tree was put up and decorated with colorful lights and red balls.

Local scouts and artists of different ages and both genders rushed to the streets and alleys in the historic city to give their Christmas performances, while foreign and local Christian pilgrims, mostly in traditional Palestinian garments, were busy taking selfies with their loved ones.

"During the Christmas festivities, we expect to receive about 100,000 foreign Christians," Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Maayah told Xinhua.

"Fortunately, the tourism sector has begun to flourish after two complicated years the city has gone through because of the new virus," the minister said.

Since the beginning of 2022, about 700,000 tourists have arrived in the Palestinian territories and occupied about 80 percent of the hotel rooms in the area, she said.

"Such a positive atmosphere gives us a glimmer of hope that life will return to normal soon, as receiving the foreign tourists and Christians will help local tourism workers compensate for their losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic," Maayah explained.

The minister pointed out that more than 33,000 Palestinians, who are active in tourism across the West Bank, have returned to their work.

According to the Palestinian Association of Hotel Owners in Bethlehem, about 70 hotels in the city employ about 3,000 workers, most of whom lost their jobs because of the suspension of domestic and foreign tourism during the pandemic period.

Kofi Asilenu, a Ghanaian man in his 20s, expressed happiness as he eventually arrived in Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas with his family and friends after years of waiting.

"I'm really surprised by the incredible joy here as I've met dozens of Christians of different nationalities around the world ... Everything here is beautiful and has its own identity I will never forget," the young man said.

Not far away from Asilenu, Anastasia Harford, an Australian Christian tourist, was busy with her friends buying souvenirs as gifts for her relatives back home.

"The celebrations in Bethlehem are very beautiful and all the people deal with us as if we were members of their families," the young woman said. "I feel the real peaceful here and I hope to visit the city every year."

"Bethlehem sent its message to the whole world that the spirit of Christmas brings us together and unites us despite all the security and political difficulties experienced by the city from the Israeli occupation," Hanna Hanania, mayor of Bethlehem, told Xinhua.

"Like all other peoples around the world, the Palestinians yearn for life in freedom and dignity under an independent and secure state," the mayor said.