This Christmas, many of us in Bethlehem just want to stay home, spend time with our families and feel safe. I think of Mary and Joseph in search of a safe place and being turned away, time and again.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The typically bustling biblical birthplace of Jesus resembled a ghost town Sunday after Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem were called off due to the Israel-Hamas war.

There's no Christmas in Bethlehem this year. With war in Gaza, festivities are off. December 16, 2023 7:00 AM ET. By . Scott Neuman , Kat Lonsdorf There's no Christmas in Bethlehem this year.

For Palestinians, Christmas in Bethlehem represents a window to the world. It has long been synonymous with joy and hope, and an occasion to commemorate the place of birth of the Christmas story ...

Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the Israel-occupied West Bank just 6 miles south of Jerusalem, has so far escaped the same ravages of war that have gripped Gaza and parts of Israel since Hamas ...

Local Christian leaders say there are about 35,000 Christians in the Bethlehem area. The symbolism of Christmas is part of the soul of the city. But the war has cast a pall.

A hand-carved nativity made of olive wood in Bethlehem is displayed for sale Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater.

It's another Christmas in Bethlehem with the war still raging in Gaza. Palestinians in the city believed to be the birthplace of Jesus are hurting after more than a year of war.

The city of Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, will not have the usual trappings of the city's favorite holiday: no public Christmas tree, no raucous ...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The excitement and cheer that typically ...

Christmas in Bethlehem PA isn’t just about the magic-filled, small-town, holiday vibe that fills the air. The history, the charm and the unique Moravian heritage of Bethlehem combine to make it ...