CHRISTMAS IN PALESTINE
Each time this year, Christians from all over the world join Christian Palestinians to
celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, the city in which Jesus Christ was born.
According to the Western calendar, prayers are held on the morning of 24 December, whereas as another mass is held on 6 January for those celebrating according to the Eastern Calendar, in the Church of the Nativity, which was built in the place believed to have witnessed the birth of Jesus Christ, with scouts performing in the yard of the church, and tourists wandering peacefully and joyfully in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, celebrations will be limited to religious rites, and a mass will be held at the midnights of 24 December at 6 January at the church of nativity, with the presence of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and other Palestinian officials, as usual.
Both Muslim and Christian Palestinians celebrate the birth of Jesus, and 7th of January Is considered an official vacation day in Palestine.
We hope we will celebrate Christmas next year with tourists from all over the world, in a free, independent Palestine.
Touraya Nofal
Ambassadress of Palestine
