The small church was not big enough for all of the faithful. A few men were standing on the doorstep in front of the large open door. It was 17 degrees Celsius that night in Jericho. Like everywhere else in the world and in the Holy Land, it was Christmas Eve.
The hearts of those gathered there that night were directed towards Bethlehem, the City of the Nativity, about 40 kilometers away. Despite the availability of a “new” route, a long and chaotic one, that they could have taken to reach the city of Jesus’ birth, these particular Catholic Palestinians wanted to celebrate the holiday in Jericho, with their family and fellow parishioners.
Like many other local Christians, the Palestinians of Jericho left the Solemn Mass of Christmas Eve for the foreign pilgrims. They are one with their parish priest, Br. Feras Hejazin, and routinely experience the good times and the bad times with him; that evening, it was the joy of Christmas that brought them together, dressed in attire befitting the occasion.
Some of them had made a trip to Bethlehem that morning, while others were planning to visit the city on the 25th or one of the first days after Christmas, thanks to the permits granted to them on the occasion of the holidays. The permits were given out to allow Palestinians to enter Israel to visit their family members or simply to run errands or to enjoy a change of scenery by breaking away from the isolation the political situation has placed them in.
“There are about fifty Latin Catholic families here,” Br. Feras said. “There are about 500 Christians living in Jericho. The total number of people inhabiting the city, which is part of the Palestinian Territories, is estimated to be 25,000 to 30,000. The experiences of the Christian minority here are varied. There are some strong friendships between Christians and Muslims, but there is also some hatred.” Br. Feras is glad to have good relations with the sheikh of the neighboring mosque, but finds it unfortunate that other Christian-Muslim relations aren’t as good. “But that’s just the way things are,” he said.
On Christmas Eve, some of Jericho’s residents were joined by family members from the Bethlehem area and from Ramallah. After the mass, which was celebrated at 8 p.m., almost all those in attendance gathered at a local kindergarten for a parish party, to continue celebrating joyfully. At the party, Fr. Feras, priest of the Good Shepherd Parish, fully expressed his happiness and joy. He got the children to dance, marveled at a group of young people as they performed some Palestinian folkloric dances and a contemporary dance number on the topic of the Creation, and was in charge of the raffle.
It was almost midnight when the parishioners began leaving the party, each returning home, happy to have celebrated Christmas with the others in Jericho.
Mab
The hearts of those gathered there that night were directed towards Bethlehem, the City of the Nativity, about 40 kilometers away. Despite the availability of a “new” route, a long and chaotic one, that they could have taken to reach the city of Jesus’ birth, these particular Catholic Palestinians wanted to celebrate the holiday in Jericho, with their family and fellow parishioners.
Like many other local Christians, the Palestinians of Jericho left the Solemn Mass of Christmas Eve for the foreign pilgrims. They are one with their parish priest, Br. Feras Hejazin, and routinely experience the good times and the bad times with him; that evening, it was the joy of Christmas that brought them together, dressed in attire befitting the occasion.
Some of them had made a trip to Bethlehem that morning, while others were planning to visit the city on the 25th or one of the first days after Christmas, thanks to the permits granted to them on the occasion of the holidays. The permits were given out to allow Palestinians to enter Israel to visit their family members or simply to run errands or to enjoy a change of scenery by breaking away from the isolation the political situation has placed them in.
“There are about fifty Latin Catholic families here,” Br. Feras said. “There are about 500 Christians living in Jericho. The total number of people inhabiting the city, which is part of the Palestinian Territories, is estimated to be 25,000 to 30,000. The experiences of the Christian minority here are varied. There are some strong friendships between Christians and Muslims, but there is also some hatred.” Br. Feras is glad to have good relations with the sheikh of the neighboring mosque, but finds it unfortunate that other Christian-Muslim relations aren’t as good. “But that’s just the way things are,” he said.
On Christmas Eve, some of Jericho’s residents were joined by family members from the Bethlehem area and from Ramallah. After the mass, which was celebrated at 8 p.m., almost all those in attendance gathered at a local kindergarten for a parish party, to continue celebrating joyfully. At the party, Fr. Feras, priest of the Good Shepherd Parish, fully expressed his happiness and joy. He got the children to dance, marveled at a group of young people as they performed some Palestinian folkloric dances and a contemporary dance number on the topic of the Creation, and was in charge of the raffle.
It was almost midnight when the parishioners began leaving the party, each returning home, happy to have celebrated Christmas with the others in Jericho.
Mab