The Laughlins

On Christmas morning, we got together with a few friends, and headed into Bethlehem. We took an Egged bus to Damascus Gate, a Palestinian bus to the border crossing ("the wall"), and then took a taxi in towards Manger Square...although we walked the last kilometer or two there. We all met up in Manger Square, which is outside of the Chruch of the Nativity. There was a group of musicians playing Christmas songs in Spanish and people dancing in big concentric circles with their arms around each other. It was fun to see. I will put a video up soon. The videos take longer, so I'm a bit behind.

Here is the Wikipedia summary of the church: The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The original structure was built by Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem at the direction of Constantine I of the Roman Empire following the First Council of Nicaea in 325. That structure was burnt down in the Samaritan revolt of 529. It is administered by a coalition of Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox clerics. Tradition has it that the church was built over Jesus' birthplace, and it is held as sacred by followers of Christianity and Islam. It is actually a combination of two churches, with a crypt, the Grotto of the Nativity, where Jesus is said to have been born: The main section (the basilica) is controlled by the Greek Orthodox Church. It is designed like a generic Roman basilica, with three aisles and an apse and features golden mosaics covering the side walls, which are now largely decayed. The Roman style floor has been since covered over and the church also features a large iconostasis, and a complex array of lamps throughout the entire church. The adjoining Roman Catholic church, which is done in a more modern Gothic revival style, has since been further modernized according to the liturgical trends after Vatican II. The underground cave, which features the altar over the place, is where Jesus is said to have been born. The exact spot is marked by a hole in the middle of a silver star, surrounded by silver lamps. This altar is neutral although it features primarily Armenian Apostolic design.

For an even better summary with some aerial photos of Bethlehem, check out the BiblePlaces webpage on Bethlehem.


We waited over an hour in a line to go into the grotto (cave), only to be hurried through once we got there. That was OK, because we weren't interested in kissing anything inside, so we spent more time looking around the rest of the church building. After that, we bought falafel and went to a nice restaurant to get hummus and pitas. There were tons of little kids everywhere trying to sell us gum or just begging for money. It was fun to go once, because when will we ever do that again? When we go to Bethlehem in the future, it will be to see the Herodium. :)