1. Home
  2. Slideshows
  3. Less Business, More Religion! Christmas 2020 in Bethlehem

Less Business, More Religion! Christmas 2020 in Bethlehem

Published December 22nd, 2020 - 07:50 GMT

Less about commerce and more about religion; Bethlehem will celebrate a quiet Christmas.

The Health Ministry has recommended strict limits on Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Celebrations in the biblical town revered by Christians as Jesus’ birthplace are usually attended by thousands of people from around the world. Visitors flood the Palestinian city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Those seeking a quiet moment of contemplation in the Church of Nativity -- the site of Christ's birth, according to tradition -- generally have to use their elbows to maneuver through the crowds.

But with coronavirus restrictions making travel to Bethlehem all but impossible for foreign worshippers, the Church of the Nativity has been eerily calm in the days before Christmas.

Bethlehem's economy is driven partly by an annual Christmas rush that benefits small shops selling postcards, rosaries carved from olive tree wood, and other Nativity-related souvenirs. West Bank tradesmen cannot even count on Christian customers from Gaza. This year will be hard for all of them.
 

View as a slider
View as a list
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian mother takes a picture of her daughter under a Christmas tree near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian mother takes a picture of her daughter under a Christmas tree near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian wearing a Santa Claus beard and hat rings a bell outside the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian wearing a Santa Claus beard and hat rings a bell outside the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A child is pictured near the 14-pointed silver star at the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born and where Christian worshippers come to pray in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020. The church was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Palestinian authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A child is pictured near the 14-pointed silver star at the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born and where Christian worshippers come to pray in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020. The church was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Palestinian authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. HAZEM BADER / AFP

Empty chairs are pictured during Sunday mass in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP

Empty chairs are pictured during Sunday mass in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrtictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian school teacher takes a 'selfie' photograph with her pupils, ahead of Christmas in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, on December 19, 2020. Christmas mass in Bethlehem, normally attended by Christian congregations in the West Bank town, will be closed to the public this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Palestinian president said earlier this week. The Palestinian Authorities imposed a new lockdown in several governorates i

A Palestinian school teacher takes a 'selfie' photograph with her pupils, ahead of Christmas in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, on December 19, 2020. Christmas mass in Bethlehem, normally attended by Christian congregations in the West Bank town, will be closed to the public this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Palestinian president said earlier this week. The Palestinian Authorities imposed a new lockdown in several governorates in the West Bank and extended a curfew in force in the evenings and weekends throughout the territory to combat a surge in novel coronavirus infections. HAZEM BADER / AFP

A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian mother takes a picture of her daughter under a Christmas tree near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian wearing a Santa Claus beard and hat rings a bell outside the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A child is pictured near the 14-pointed silver star at the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born and where Christian worshippers come to pray in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020. The church was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Palestinian authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. HAZEM BADER / AFP
Empty chairs are pictured during Sunday mass in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian school teacher takes a 'selfie' photograph with her pupils, ahead of Christmas in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, on December 19, 2020. Christmas mass in Bethlehem, normally attended by Christian congregations in the West Bank town, will be closed to the public this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Palestinian president said earlier this week. The Palestinian Authorities imposed a new lockdown in several governorates i
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian mother takes a picture of her daughter under a Christmas tree near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian mother takes a picture of her daughter under a Christmas tree near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian shop-owner arranges Christmas decorations at her shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian carpenter carves religious statues and figurines from olive wood at a shop near the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2020. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian wearing a Santa Claus beard and hat rings a bell outside the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian wearing a Santa Claus beard and hat rings a bell outside the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A child is pictured near the 14-pointed silver star at the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born and where Christian worshippers come to pray in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020. The church was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Palestinian authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A child is pictured near the 14-pointed silver star at the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born and where Christian worshippers come to pray in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020. The church was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Palestinian authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. HAZEM BADER / AFP
Empty chairs are pictured during Sunday mass in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP
Empty chairs are pictured during Sunday mass in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrtictions. HAZEM BADER / AFP
A Palestinian school teacher takes a 'selfie' photograph with her pupils, ahead of Christmas in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, on December 19, 2020. Christmas mass in Bethlehem, normally attended by Christian congregations in the West Bank town, will be closed to the public this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Palestinian president said earlier this week. The Palestinian Authorities imposed a new lockdown in several governorates i
A Palestinian school teacher takes a 'selfie' photograph with her pupils, ahead of Christmas in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, on December 19, 2020. Christmas mass in Bethlehem, normally attended by Christian congregations in the West Bank town, will be closed to the public this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Palestinian president said earlier this week. The Palestinian Authorities imposed a new lockdown in several governorates in the West Bank and extended a curfew in force in the evenings and weekends throughout the territory to combat a surge in novel coronavirus infections. HAZEM BADER / AFP

You may also like

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content
Subscribe Now
Loading content ...