Christmas Eve in Bethlehem

My talkative cubemate asked me what we were going to do to celebrate Christmas. I told him that we were planning to visit Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, since that’s where Jesus was born. He asked me if I know what Bethlehem means. I didn’t, so he filled me in. In Hebrew, lehem (לחם) is “bread”, and bet (בית) is “house”. So, Bethlehem is literally the House of Bread. Seems fitting, since Jesus declared Himself the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35).

I then asked my cubemate if he knew that the Bible had predicted that the Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. He replied, “Jesus is not mentioned in the Bible” (note: when he says “Bible”, he’s referring to what Christians call the “Old Testament”). So, I did some Googling and found this:

Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be the ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.”

He then did some Googling of his own, this time in Hebrew, and seemed surprised to find that his Hebrew version of the book of Micah aligned with my English version. So, at least we could agree that the Bible had predicted that the Messiah would be born in the House of Bread.

To enter Bethlehem, we crossed the border into the West Bank just south of Jerusalem. At the crossing, a large sign read: “No passage for Israeli citizens”. We readied our passports, but were waved through by the machine gun-carrying guards.

Our first order of business was to find a place to park. We (slowly) followed the long line of cars towards Manger Square. After we could drive no further, we were approached by a Palestinian who asked us to follow him. For just 10 shekels ($2.80), he let us park in his lot all day.

The weather outside was frightful—a mere 60 degrees or so—so we bundled Sammy up and then went on our way. Along the short walk to Manger Square, we saw many locals, tourists, and Santas celebrating Christmas. We also passed the “Stars & Bucks” Café.

Once we reached the square, we took in the Christmas procession and met a Bethlehem-born Palestinian Christian from New Jersey. As frequently happens, Sammy helped initiate the conversation—and then we learned a bit about our new friend Laith and his people. Laith had flown from JFK to Amman, Jordan, and then drove the rest of the way to Bethlehem to see his extended family for Christmas. This is because Palestinians aren’t allowed to use Israel’s Ben Gurion airport. In fact, Laith’s younger brother, who resides in Bethlehem, has never even seen Jerusalem (which is only 6km from Bethlehem) since Palestinians are not allowed to cross the border.

On a lighter note, Laith also remarked on the fact that Oregon (where we live) & New Jersey (where he lives) are the only US States that prohibit citizens from pumping their own gas—common ground I’d never thought I’d build upon in conversation with a stranger. We could both agree on the absurdity of our states' gas pumping laws.

All of the Palestinians we interacted with on Christmas Eve were extremely friendly, and not once did we feel unsafe—except for the fast & windy return cab-ride from the Shepherd’s field, that is. We received some “hello’s” and waves from Palestinian children, and were approached by some teens who seemed to simply want to meet us and practice their English. It felt a bit like China in that way. Sammy was also held and kissed by a man & woman who worked at a restaurant where we ate dinner.

In the evening, as we were visiting Shepherd’s Field “E” (Franciscan owned & operated), we heard Christmas carols being sung in the distance. Being drawn towards the music, we came upon familiar-sounding songs coming from inside a cave. Our little family sat on some nearby rocks, listening and quietly singing along. Then, as we overlooked the rolling hills surrounding Bethlehem, we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and reflected on what had taken place here 2000 years ago.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

We then joined the carolers in the cave and realized that they were singing and speaking Korean. A group of Koreans were having an in-cave Christmas service, and had been joined by some Western passersby such as us. It was a powerful moment—believers from all over the world, with at least one thing in common, had descended on Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Sammy’s first Christmas Eve was certainly a memorable one—having celebrated where it all began.

Here's a view of the hills of the West Bank surrounding Bethlehem.

This shot represents what the residential areas of Bethlehem look like.

Palestinian version of Starbucks.

We really did feel "welcomed"...

Many churches fill the skyline of Bethlehem. Here are a couple...

This guy was part of the procession from Manger Square. He's carrying a Palestinian flag.

Many Santas lined the streets, attempting to draw tourists into their shops.

The town was definitely decked out for Christmas.

Lots of Palestinians flags were found...

Like this one with Yasser Arafat in the background. This was at Manger Square.

This guy was part of the Latin procession. It was crowded.

Rooftop of the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square (Bethlehem).

And here is the southern side of the Church of the Nativity, which purportedly stands over the place where Jesus was born.

This is a view of Manger Square itself. That's a Christmas Tree on the left, and a Mosque on the right. If you look closely, you can see the banner of Yasser Arafat that was included in a previous picture.  

These Palestinian soldiers were (thankfully) keping us safe...

Here's Nicki entering the Church of the Nativity through the "Door of Humility". We learned that the door used to be taller, but Crusaders shortened it in order to fend off attacks (it's no longer large enought to ride a horse through).

Here's Sammy and I in the Catholic section of the Church of Nativity. It is divided amongst various religous sects.  

We attempted to walk to the Shepherd's Field and ended up at field "E", the Franciscian owned & operated field. There is also an Orthodox field, among others. We met some friendly Singaporeans along our walk.  

There are many crosses all over town. Some residents of Bethlehem are Christians while others are Muslim. 

Finally, we arrived at the Franciscan Shepherd's Field. There were some Byzantine church ruins and several caves.

This is Nicki at the Shepher'd Field.

Here is the cave with the caroling Koreans--probably the highlight of our trip.

And finally, we returned to Manger Square (this time via taxi). We warmed up with tea purchased from two little Palestinian boys who's English vocabulary solely included the word "tea".