It’s officially my last week in Jerusalem this fall and I’m determined to make it a good one. This means packing everything I haven’t done yet into the hours I’m not studying for finals or writing papers.
Christmas seemed like the perfect day to visit Bethlehem, a Palestinian city fifteen minutes south of Jerusalem. So, after finishing a four-hour Hebrew exam, I hopped on an Arab bus filled with blonde families (for probably the only day of the year) and made my way to the birthplace of Jesus on the day celebrating his birth.
As a non-Christian, I’m sure that the experience of visiting the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square on Christmas lacked much of its potential power. Regardless, I was really surprised to find that it seemed like
any-other-day in Bethlehem. The streets and central town square were not flooding with tourists and waits at the few restaurants catering to foreigners were reasonable.
The most shocking part of Bethlehem Christmas was the lack of commercialization. There were few nativity scenes, lights or pine trees and just one Santa, donned in a “Palestine” Ms. America style sash.
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