Fireworks Turn Manger Square Into Celebration Of Peace, Jesus Plo Chief Yasser Arafat Attends Midnight Mass At The Church Of The Nativity

Fireworks burst over Manger Square on Sunday as Palestinians jammed Bethlehem’s streets to celebrate the births of Christ and their own self-rule. “It’s Christmas. The city is free,” Bethlehem’s mayor said.

The festive atmosphere Sunday contrasted sharply to the subdued celebrations of past Christmases, when Israeli troops patrolled the streets. Israel transferred Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority last week.

“The beginning of Palestinian freedom is the beginning of reconciliation between Jews and Palestinians,” Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah said at midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity.

“We pray for everyone - even those who refuse peace in their heart,” said Sabbah, head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land. Earlier, he left Jerusalem with an Israeli police escort and picked up a Palestinian escort at a roadblock just outside Bethlehem.

PLO chief Yasser Arafat, a Muslim, observed the service from his seat of honor in the church. He was dressed in olive fatigues and a black-and-white checkered keffiyeh, or headdress.

Arafat, on his first visit to Bethlehem since returning last year from decades in exile, told Anglicans at St. George Church, “The glory of Jesus Christ will give us more power to continue in the march of peace, not only for the Palestinians, and the Israelis, but for the whole world.”

Security was tight for Arafat’s long-awaited appearance in the jam-packed church.

Armed Palestinian police took snapshots of each other while Boy Scouts in khaki uniforms and altar boys in white smocks made their way toward the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born.

Buildings on the square were adorned with Palestinian flags and huge pictures of Arafat. Laser lights formed a dove of peace.

“It’s different from years before. There is more happiness,” said Sister Emmanuelle, a 73-year-old Roman Catholic nun. “This year we will go to mass to pray and thank the Lord for the peace.”

A Palestinian children’s choir - girls in black robes and boys with keffiyeh draped over white dress shirts - sang “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night” in Arabic. Choirs from Texas, Germany, Finland and Jordan also performed in the square. A carnival atmosphere prevailed in Manger Square where the squeal of bagpipes mixed with the sound of jingling bells in a parade through town.