The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-12-19
Christmas in Bethlehem


| the Saviour Of mankind as surely u
the year rolls around.
To this place, ms the followers of Ma
homet flock to Mecca, the followers Of
Christ come annually on the day of his
nativity. Here they kneol and pray anC
spend the time in holy meditation.
J pilgrimages are also made to Il grottC
near the Church of the Nativity, which
is supposed to be the site of the palace
of Justice where innumerahle children
were slain by order of King Herod.
These pilgramages are not lightly
undertaken. They began several weeks
ago, and even now the six thousand in
= habitants of Bethlehem are enjoying q
long, happy festival. ManEaare the ban
quets. the social visits and the joyous
bethrotals.
1 After the carnival there is a fast, dur
ing which there is no Standardization
no pampering of the flesh or love making
At the end of the fast, which will close
next week. the Christmas ceremonies will
take plg u.
Our Christmas Eve the Christians in
Jerusalem will gather together and flock
out of the city with their faces set for
the church of the Nativity, in Bethle-
hcm. They will march down through
the valley of Gihon, the old boundary
between Benjamin and Judah. They
will see, as they pass, the tree on which
the traitor Judas is said to have hanged
himself, and the well out of which the
wise men drew water after they had
left Herod.
Ng;tbiY, 4J,pi,s y,iatv will also no thn Con
vent of Elijah, erected on the spot
where the prophet rested during his
fight from Jezebel. As they come to the
end of their march the people of Beth
lehem VII come out to meet them, and
then, preceded bygaly attired, wand
bearing heralds, and followed by an inn
mense thrOng of men, women and chill
dren, they will march toward the Church
of the Nativity, the oldest monument of
Christian architecture in the world.
There Mass will be celebrated while
armed Turkish soldiers in full uniform
of red fezzes, blue jackets and baggy
trousers stand on guard beside the altar
and around the brilliant silver star where
Christ is supposed to have lain in the
Manager.
This star CLEANS up from the pave
ment and is the most conspicuous object
in the gretto. Lmps, the figures of
many saints and other ornaments are
in this grotto, and in one corner are
lamps which are always kept burning.
Close by this altar are the manager and
another altar, on which the wise men
are said to have presented their gifts to
Christ. All these objects are considered
of inestimable value by the members
of the different church Sects, and were
it not for the presence of Turkish sol
diers it is more than likely that dis
putes would arise as to the right of pro-
prietorship.
With this visit and Mass in the grotto
the Christmas Eve ceremonies end. On
Christmas Day the regular Roman Cath
Ollie service will be held in the same
church, and the remainder of the day
will be spent in merry making.
During the evening friends viii visit
each other and exchange courtesies. The
spirit of peace and JOY will brood over
the old town, and when the ceremonies
end the Christmas of Bethlehem may
say to themselves, "Verily, for us, as
for so many generations of our ancestors,
this has been a happy season"
During the visiting period an abund-
ance of coffee, sweetmeats and tobacco
will be consumed and many young men
and maids who became betrothed before
the fast will be joined in the bonds of
matrimony. CymbaIs are favorite in
struments in the East, and their music
is never louder than during Christmas
week in Bethlehem.
With such music the. pilgrims are well
coined, and the same music is heard
continually as long as the ceremonies
last. The Turkish soldiers who guard
the holy relics during the ceremonies are
not mere fgure-heads. That the men,
Der of the various Christian sects in the
East are not over friendly to each other
is well known, and the soldiers are con-
sidered absolutely essential to guard an
outbreak of fanaticism.
The trouble lies in the fact that each
sect claims possession of the holy places,
and naturally regards any other sect
which worships in them as an interlOper
Thanks, however, to the vigilance of the
soldiers and the other authorities, no
serious outbreaks have ever arisen at
this season. and as the years pass there
are many indications that an amicable
understanding viii be finally arrived at
GEO. II. CONNELL.