From international editor Angela Lu Fulton: Thanks to a shaky cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, Christmas celebrations are returning to Jesus’ birthplace of Bethlehem.  A towering Christmas tree is lit up at Manger Square, crowds fill the streets, and tourists eat at restaurants, stay at hotels, and shop at stores, according to the Associated Press. That’s a change from the previous two Christmases, when the city stood empty and quiet.

CT described Christmas in Bethlehem in 2023, two months after the war began, as muted, with streets “dark and hushed.” Yet even without the lights and pageantry, Christians continued to honor the birth of Jesus. “If you look at the real story of Christmas, it was a story of pure hardship,” youth minister Elias Al-Najjar told a group of young adults. “But God didn’t leave Mary and Joseph. And they didn’t leave God. So why should we?”

Earlier this year, CT wrote about how the war has affected another important city in Jesus’ early life: Nazareth. Without tourists, its economy has tanked, while criminal gangs and corrupt government officials led many Christians to move away. Yet a faithful remnant continues to minister locally and pray for revival.

CT has also excerpted a book describing how Christians in Bethlehem—and the rest of the Middle East—celebrate Christmas, and covered another year when Christmas celebrations were canceled: 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.