At midnight on Christmas Eve, the words of the traditional hymn “The Night of Christmas” will ring out in the tiny grotto in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born.
“On the night of Christmas, war is buried, On the night of Christmas, love is born,” a local choir sings each year during the midnight service.
As they rehearsed ahead of this year’s service, many choir members said the words echoed with deeper meaning following the ceasefire in Gaza.
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“It reminds us that no matter the difficulties, the darkness, there is always a light and that hope is always alive,” said Joseph Hazboun, the conductor of the lay choir made up of local Catholics.
For the past two years, as the war in Gaza dragged on, Christmas in the Palestinian city has been a sombre affair, without the traditional festivities and decorations and music.
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