After two years, Bethlehem brings back it Christmas celebrations

After two years of not celebrating because of the war in nearby Gaza, Christmas festivities have returned to Bethlehem.

FADEL: The city is nestled in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is a place where people from around the world have long gathered to celebrate Jesus' birth. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi was at the Christmas Eve celebrations and joins us now from Bethlehem. Good morning.

HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning. FADEL: OK, so set the scene for us. What was it like?

AL-SHALCHI: I mean, what a day. First of all, it felt like summer. The sun was shining. It got pretty hot, also. And Manger Square was packed with hundreds of people. Many were wearing their Sunday best, kids holding balloons. There were all these kiosks selling corn and nuts, people wearing Santa Claus hats. And, of course, the huge Bethlehem Christmas tree, with red and gold baubles and twinkling lights, even though it was daytime, loomed over our heads. Bethlehem has a tradition of holding a scouts parade on Christmas Eve. We just heard a little bit from them. Young men and women played the bagpipes, drums. They did a few tricks with their batons, throwing them in the air.

There's also a tradition where Jerusalem's Latin patriarch marches behind the parade and then gives a speech at the end of it. And indeed, Italian Cardinal Pizzaballa showed up, flanked with an enormous amount of security, and gave his message.

PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA: But today, I see in Bethlehem light.

FADEL: So really a message of hope. What did you hear from people in Manger Square?

AL-SHALCHI: You know, people were just, like, really happy. It's been more than two years of a devastating war in Gaza. And then also, since the war started, it has been really restrictive to live as a Palestinian in the West Bank, which is where Bethlehem is. The Israeli military has set up so many new checkpoints, and military raids have increased in cities where it says it's rooting out militants. I talked to 22-year-old Asil Jahjah (ph), who said that the festivities were just what Bethlehem needed.

ASIL JAHJAH: (Non-English language spoken).

AL-SHALCHI: She says people needed to let off some of the pressure they've felt since the war started. But, you know, it wasn't just Palestinians here. There weren't as many tourists as before the war, but, you know, there were some Americans, Germans. I heard Italian. I even spoke to a couple from Malawi, a pastor and her husband. They were wearing full-on festive Christmas jammies in the middle of the day.

FADEL: (Laughter) I love that.

AL-SHALCHI: Pastor Matee Yodah (ph) said they were encouraged to come after she heard that a ceasefire was brokered in Gaza last October.

MATEE YODAH: This is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, so we came here to see where he was born.

FADEL: Hadeel, you mentioned there how restrictive it's been in the West Bank. Did people talk about that?

AL-SHALCHI: Absolutely. I mean, people were happy, but it was top of mind. I met Basel Awad (ph). He's a 30-year-old, and he was manning a coffee kiosk his family set up in Manger Square at Christmas for his whole life. Now, Leila, he described living in the West Bank with this one Arabic word.

BASEL AWAD: Sijjin (ph) - well (ph), sijjin.

AL-SHALCHI: Exactly. He says that it's suffocating to live in the West Bank today, that a simple trip to a neighboring city feels like an ordeal and that they could easily expect the Israeli military, even in Manger Square, without notice. I also spoke to 46-year-old Hanan Hreish (ph). She said it took her three and a half hours to get from Ramallah to Bethlehem because of the checkpoints, and that's a trip that normally takes half an hour in a car. But she said even though they can be intimidated, she was determined.

HANAN HREISH: Since morning, I decided not to make myself nervous because at the end, I want to come.

AL-SHALCHI: And really, that was the atmosphere here. People were defiant, daring to allow themselves a moment of hope in what has been a very dark time.

FADEL: A moment of hope in what has been a very dark time - a powerful message on this Christmas morning, Hadeel. That's NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Bethlehem. Thank you.

AL-SHALCHI: Of course. You're welcome.

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