The bells and the singing of the Gloria announce that it is Christmas again, especially in Bethlehem. A Christmas that still has to deal with the restrictions due to the pandemic: no tourists and pilgrims, but this year some Christians from Gaza have arrived again. HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "It is already the second year that Bethlehem breathes Christmas with only one lung, with the local Christians and without the pilgrims... you can also live with only one lung but you do not live well. We want to look at the positive aspects, because Christmas is also the time when we have to look, in the Child, the hope that comes among us, the presence of the Christians of Gaza, of a part of them, is a positive sign." HANI SABA Gaza "We are so happy, my daughters had never been out of Gaza, they had never seen Bethlehem, finally we are here." A light of hope in the midst of difficulties. HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "I receive many gifts, but the most beautiful one was the visit to Gaza. The look of the children, the joy of those children, simple, but full of life! It was the most beautiful gift, the most beautiful comfort of this year." Christmas Day in Bethlehem began with the solemn entrance of the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, H.B. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on the morning of December 24. SAMER AL ARAJ Beit Sahour "For Christmas, every year, we come to the square of the Nativity for the entrance of the patriarch, all here together to celebrate, in this feast of love and peace." The welcome at the tomb of Rachel, the walk through the old city accompanied by the scouts, up to the square of the Nativity, where since the morning a small crowd of believers gathered. The desire to celebrate is great, as well as the joy of finding oneself in this city where everything began. NOUR GHRAIEB Nazareth "Bethlehem... because it's the city where Jesus was born, here I feel my religious belonging, here something great has happened." MUKHARRAM KHAMIS Jerusalem "I came here for the feast of Christmas, to celebrate together with my Christian brothers . We come to see the basilica of the Nativity, we see things we don't know: we entered the church of the Nativity and saw where the Child was born. We celebrate together with our Christian brothers and sisters." After greeting the faithful in the streets of Bethlehem, Patriarch Pizzaballa greeted the authorities and the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land in front of the Basilica of the Nativity, then entered the basilica for a moment of community prayer. HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "The message I feel like saying, the one I have in my heart, is the one I told my community: let us look forward with confidence. We are in dire need of hearing from His witnesses, especially from the Church, that God's word is being fulfilled. Jesus is still present, hope is not just thinking that it will be okay but is the certainty that good is already in our midst." We gather for the Mass of the Night, the Mass of the announcement that God became man. The Patriarch presided over the Mass in St. Catherine's Church, next to the Basilica of the Nativity. Also present were the Palestinian authorities, including the prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh. The President of the Palestinian Authority, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās, did not attend. In the nearby "Field of Shepherds", the celebration of the Apostolic Delegate for Jerusalem and Palestine, Msgr. Adolfo Tito Yllana. During his homily, the Patriarch reviewed the lights and shadows of this year, hoping for justice and freedom for a people "tired of waiting to be allowed to live freely and with dignity in their own land and home". HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "What is needed is not concessions, but rights, and an end to years of occupation and violence, with all their dramatic consequences on the life of each individual and of the community in general, by creating new relationships in which mutual trust, not distrust, reigns." A possible coexistence in the light of Christmas. HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "It is true, evil never ceases to rage on the lives of the weakest and most defenseless, but the road to peace is marked, and it is still our road today. In that Child is the Love that enters the world, that remains in every moment of history, that is an endless adventure and can truly change everything. The Church still invites us today to recognize this mystery that continues to manifest itself among us." The celebrations closed with a procession to the Grotto of the Nativity. The Gospel of Jesus' birth was proclaimed and the Patriarch laid a statue of the Baby Jesus at the site of his birth.