Christmas in Bethlehem "halved" without pilgrims, but better than last year

• Christmas Eve Mass, the Pope: "Give dignity to work, no more deaths"

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December 25, 2021 The celebrations of Christmas in the Holy Land began with the traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem yesterday, celebrations taking place amid restrictions due to the Coronavirus, for the second consecutive year. Also this Christmas there are neither tourists nor pilgrims since Israel closed the borders to foreigners at the beginning of the month to protect itself from the Omicron variant. 

from Jerusalem arrived at Manger Square, near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, then celebrated the traditional midnight mass.

In his homily, the Patriarch addressed pilgrims from all over the world directly, saying that everything possible is being done in the Holy Land to allow them to join the celebrations again. "Compared to last year's Christmas, participation is much greater and this is an encouraging sign". But he stresses "an important part is still missing for joy to be complete. Pilgrims are missing". "We hope that with a joint action of politics, church and local and international tour operators, we can - he continued - find safe ways of resuming this activity, despite the pandemic". 

In his sermon, the patriarch then made an excursus on the situation of the territories that fall under the management of his diocese, from Cyprus to Jordan to Israel and Gaza. And precisely at the mass as last year, Palestinian President Abu Mazen did not participate due to the pandemic, but Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh was present with various ministers and the mayor of Bethlehem, Anton Salman, who is traditionally Catholic. Pizzaballa also celebrates Christmas mass always in the church of Santa Caterina, adjacent to the basilica of the nativity. 

the special Franciscan province that guards the places and sanctuaries of the Holy Land,

, instead, celebrated Mass in Nazareth, the place of origin of Jesus' family. Here too, only the local faithful are present. "At this moment", Patton said in his Christmas message, "it is natural to think also of the many families in difficulty in various countries of the world; to the many families forced to abandon their homes, their country and their homeland because they are persecuted by political regimes that reincarnate the mentality of Herod or because increasingly frequent economic and environmental disasters force them to leave everything and emigrate ". And like the other leaders, Patton also hopes that this will be the last Christmas without foreign pilgrims on the streets of Bethlehem. 

In

, the tree lit by local pilgrims twenty days ago is lit, then the fireworks gave a hint of normality, but it is a "halved" normality. 

in his Christmas message, he stressed how Christmas reminds us of the importance of justice and resilience. However, it will be another mass without foreign pilgrims due to the pandemic, an absence that weighs heavily on the economy of the Palestinian city. Bethlehem supports its economy mainly on pilgrims: hotels, restaurants, shops, craft factories and the religious institutions themselves are going through an unprecedented crisis due to the lack of income from religious pilgrimages. Last year the evening celebration, the first after the closure imposed by Covid, took place normally, albeit with the church half empty due to severe restrictions. The precautions, however, had not prevented the infection and after the service some faithful and officiants had resounded positively.This year, the Israeli government has already for days decided to close its borders to avoid the spread of Omicron and especially the Christian pilgrims who hoped to be able to enter the country have paid the consequences. 

A very difficult situation also in the Palestinian Territories, where people continue to die and contagions are numerous. According to the leaders of the Christian churches, pilgrims contribute 3 billion dollars to the Israeli economy. Obviously, in a very significant way, also to the Palestinian one. In Mangiatoia Square there are only local faithful and a few hundred Christian faithful from Gaza. This year the Israeli government has opened the borders with the enclave to several faithful and many have decided to go to Bethlehem. Among them also the scouts who have the patriarch Pizzaballa to the sound of bagpipes, with the procession of local clergy and Franciscan friars, who guard the church of Santa Caterina, adjacent to the Orthodox basilica of the Nativity. Both,they were subjected for 40 days to a siege in 2002 during the second Intifada, in which about 200 Palestinians deemed terrorists by the Israelis remained locked inside with the army outside trying to track them down.