Not so, but God knows they are trying. Johnny's souvenir shop and the Holy Manger stores were plunged into darkness.
Power cuts are a regular occurrence in Bethlehem.
The latest culprit was not the hundreds of Arab workers busily uprooting streets and rebuilding pavements by hand, but the angelic voices of the Vienna Boys' Choir. They were due to open the millennium celebrations in Manger Square that evening, but their sound check brought down the already overstretched power system. At times there may be no light, but there is always plenty of life, and definitely a great warmth. Above the noise of the chisels, grinders and jackhammers in Manger Square you could hear children playing, laughing, chasing, because the square is more a children's playground than a solemn place of worship. It is flat out for the millennium, but it is being done at such speed and panic that one could be forgiven for believing that they only got the good news a few weeks ago.