Bethlehem: The West Bank Thousands of tourists descended on the traditional birthplace of Jesus on Saturday as Bethlehem celebrated a joyous Christmas as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

This town in the occupied West Bank depends heavily on tourism for its economy, but for the past two years, the pandemic has deterred foreign travellers.

This year, tourists are back, hotels are booked to capacity, and store owners have reported brisk business in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Even though they are still far below pre-pandemic levels, Bethlehem's spirits have been visibly lifted by the tourists' return.

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Rula Maayah, the Palestinian tourism minister, said, "We are celebrating Christmas this year in a very much different way than last year." "Christmas is being celebrated with visitors from around the world."

For Christmas Eve festivities, hundreds of people strolled through Manger Square throughout the day. While marching bands played bagpipes and beat on drums, foreign tourists strolled the streets and took selfies with the town's massive Christmas tree in the background.

Although many people went inside to shops and restaurants to warm up, the chilly, grey weather and the occasional rain shower did little to dampen spirits. By dusk, the crowds had diminished.

A 38-year-old Filipina who works in Israel named Daisy Lucas described celebrating the holiday in such a significant location as a dream come true.

As a Christian, she said, "it's so overwhelming walking in the places in the Bible. "This is where Jesus Christ was born. That is one accomplishment on my bucket list as a Christian.

The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, arrived from Jerusalem via a checkpoint in Israel's West Bank separation barrier.

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He noted the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and a recent upsurge in Israeli-Palestinian violence when he said, "We are living in very difficult challenges. However, the Christmas message is one of peace.

Things can be changed, he continued. To uphold the value of harmony and cooperation among all, "we will be very clear in what we have to do and what we have to say."

Pizzaballa proceeded to the Church of the Nativity, which was constructed on the site where Christians think Jesus was born, after passing through Manger Square and waving to onlookers. He was scheduled to celebrate Midnight Mass later.

As the holiday season began, hundreds of millions of Christians celebrated the conclusion of a turbulent year marked by violence and conflict in numerous parts of the world.

Due to restrictions and power outages, the glitzy lights that usually covered Kyiv's Sophia Square were absent from the war-torn country of Ukraine. Instead, the dimness of the square was only slightly broken by a modest tree lit with blue and yellow lights. The "Tree of Invincibility" is what the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has dubbed it.

Winter storms that brought blinding blizzards, freezing rain, and extremely low temperatures to the United States disrupted travel and forced many holiday events to be cancelled.

However, more than a hundred surfers dressed as Santa Claus braved the chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the morning off the central coast of Florida, where temperatures dropped as low as 27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2.7 degrees Celsius). This was for the annual Christmas Eve Surfing Santas festival.

The U.S. military organisation NORAD said it didn't anticipate COVID-19 or the storms affecting North America to affect Saint Nick's travels around the world. NORAD is famous for its amusing tradition of tracking Santa Claus as he delivers presents on Christmas Eve.

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Santa will be right at home, according to Lt. Gen. David Nahom, a NORAD official based in Anchorage, Alaska, with the Arctic weather that is hitting the lower 48.

Tens of thousands of migrants in Mexico who have fled the poverty and violence in their home countries are almost certain to spend Christmas in overcrowded shelters or on the streets of border towns where organised crime frequently targets them.

At Manger Square, the present was evident as photos of Palestinian prisoner Nasser Abu Hamid were prominently displayed on banners. The veteran prisoner, who had spent roughly 20 years in jail following his conviction in the deaths of seven Israelis, passed away from cancer last week in an Israeli prison clinic.