Christmas Eve is a day for people from all over the world to celebrate, full of warm and happy festive atmosphere. However, in Bethlehem in the West Bank, the birthplace of Jesus, everything is very different from the festive atmosphere of previous years. This year, all public celebrations have been canceled, and people have chosen to mourn with the suffering Palestinians in Gaza and pray for peace. At the Lutheran Church on Christmas, the manger where Jesus was born was replaced by a pile of rubble, with one pastor saying, "If Jesus were born today, he would have been born under the rubble." ”
Bethlehem, located in the West Bank region of Palestine, is an ancient city known as the "Birthplace of Jesus". The economy is highly dependent on tourists and pilgrims, especially during the Christmas season. However, due to the impact of the war, all hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops have no business this year, and the economy has been hit hard, many hotels have been forced to close, and people's lives have been severely affected. While the rest of the world was celebrating Jesus' birth, the streets of Bethlehem were silent. The people of Gaza are suffering from the fighting, and in Bethlehem, people are also struggling with the economic downturn.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on 7 October this year and continues ever since. Gaza health authorities noted that nearly 19,000 people had been killed in Israeli army airstrikes, mostly women and children. In early December, Christian leaders and administrations in the West Bank decided to cancel all public celebrations in mourning in Gaza. In a church in Bethlehem, the biblical account of a manger was replaced with rubble, reenacting the scene of Jesus' birth. The church's pastor, Munther Ishaq, said that this is Christmas in Palestine and hoped that "Jesus in the rubble" would convey the church's support for the plight of the people of Gaza and draw the attention of the international community.
This Christmas Eve, the streets of Bethlehem were filled with a mournful atmosphere, and pastors and believers chose to express their concern for Gaza in a special way. The transformative scene in the birthplace of Jesus became a symbol of a call for peace and concern for a suffering people. Although this ancient city has become silent in the midst of the war, people's hearts are still filled with a yearning for peace and prayers for the suffering people. On this special Holy Eve, the poignant story of Bethlehem reminds us that Christmas Eve is not just a celebration, but a deep prayer for world peace.
A church in Bethlehem has attracted international attention by converting the manger of the "nativity scene" into a pile of rubble.
A church in Bethlehem has attracted international attention by converting the manger of the "nativity scene" into a pile of rubble.