Just like every year, this year too, Bethlehem is hosting tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims, who have flocked to the city on Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But for the Palestinian residents of the city, this Christmas has assumed a lot more significance with two important developments having taken place in the last year. First, the Church of the Nativity – built over a spot where Jesus is believed to have been born – in Bethlehem was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in June and just last month, the United Nations granted Palestine the status of non-member observer state.

Together with the Church of the Nativity, a part of the pilgrimage route along which the Christmas procession is traditionally lead down was also included in the World Heritage list. And it is along this route that tourists and local Palestinians – both Christian and Muslim – will line up to watch the procession go by. As evening falls, the Manger Square, located in front of the Church of the Nativity, will glitter with lights, decorations, a nativity scene and a 17 meter tall Christmas tree. This is where the procession and festivities will culminate as the pilgrims crowd into the church for the Midnight Mass.

Christmas is the highlight of the whole year in Bethlehem, which, like the rest of the West Bank, is still trying hard to recover from the difficult economic times that the region has seen following the violent Palestinian uprising against Israel that occurred in the year 2000. The business provided by the tourists on Christmas is a welcome reprieve for the struggling economy and this year has seen a 20 per cent increase in the numbers of visitors compared to last year. In fact, officials are hopeful of another rise in the tourist numbers, “Next year, we are expecting a further increase,” said Samir Hazboun, chairman of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.