World News: Covid shadow on Bethlehem – Gulf Digital News

World News: Covid shadow on Bethlehem – Gulf Digital News

BETHLEHEM: Christmas celebrations have resumed this year in the biblical town of Bethlehem, albeit dampened by restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bethlehem returned to its traditional marching band parades and street celebrations, with scout bands banging drums and holding flags in Manger Square.

A midnight Mass celebrated by Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, was also scheduled at the Church of the Nativity, which houses the grotto where Jesus was born.

As he left Jerusalem for Bethlehem yesterday, Pizzaballa said he hoped the pandemic would subside.

“We need pilgrims to bring us the life in our communities,” he said. “We need to find this balance and we are all working for this because it’s very sad to see the Old City [of Jerusalem] almost empty.”

Bethlehem’s mayor, Anton Salman, said he was optimistic that 2021 celebrations would be better than last year’s Christmas, when even local residents stayed home due to lockdown restrictions.

“Last year, our festival was virtual, but this year it will be face to face with popular participation,” Salman said.

A ban on nearly all incoming air traffic by Israel, however, has kept international tourists away for a second consecutive year. The