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Pandemic Dampens Christmas Spirit In Biblical Bethlehem
- By The Financial District
- Dec 25, 2021
- 2 min read
The biblical town of Bethlehem marked its second straight Christmas Eve under the shadow of the coronavirus -- with small crowds and gray, gloomy weather dampening celebrations Friday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, Jack Jeffery reported for the Associated Press (AP).
Photo Insert: Bethlehem City Square
A ban on nearly all incoming air traffic by Israel -- the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank -- kept international tourists away for a second consecutive year. The ban is meant to slow the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant, which has shaken Christmas celebrations around the world.
Instead, local authorities were counting on the Holy Land’s small Christian community to lift spirits. It was a theme seen around the world as revelers, weary from nearly two years of lockdowns and safety restrictions, searched for ways to revive customs and celebrate safely with loved ones.
In Germany, a Cologne cathedral held a special Christmas vaccination campaign. In the Philippines, people wore masks as they did their last-minute shopping, and in France, hospital workers decorated a Christmas tree in an intensive-care unit.
Mask mandates and lockdowns kept celebrations subdued in many countries, and hospitals were filled with patients.
Bethlehem’s mayor, Anton Salman, said the town was optimistic that 2021 would be better than last year’s Christmas, when even local residents stayed home due to lockdown restrictions.
Bethlehem planned a return of its traditional marching band parades and street celebrations. “Last year, our festival was virtual, but this year it will be face to face with popular participation,” Salman said.
Police erected barricades early Friday as scout bands marched through Manger Square banging drums and holding flags ahead of the expected arrival from Jerusalem of Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land.
