Handcrafted from the Holy Land: Each nativity set is meticulously carved from olive wood by Christian families in Bethlehem. These sets range in size and detail, allowing families to choose one ...

They left behind a small shop and olive wood ... rosaries and Nativity scenes for nearly two millennia. Today these families are struggling because tourists are staying away from Bethlehem ...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold handmade olive wood carvings and religious items to people visiting the traditional birthplace of Jesus since 1927.

Some evidence shows that the use of olive wood in Bethlehem dates back to the fourth century during the construction of the Basilica of the Nativity, Adonia said. And Franciscan monks introduced ...

here explain their views on life in modern Bethlehem. I work with olive wood and I make things especially for Christmas. The tourists buy our nativity sets. Right now I am working on a grotto.

As Christmas pilgrims pore over the intricately carved Nativity scenes in Bethlehem shop windows, few pause to consider that some of the wood used comes from olive trees older than the events of the ...