Thousands gathered in Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Christmas Eve to celebrate after two years of cancellations. The giant Christmas tree returned, standing tall during a parade with scouts playing bagpipes. This year’s celebrations began with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. He called for “a Christmas full of light.” Arriving in Manger Square, Pizzaballa brought greetings from Gaza’s Christian community. He said, “We, all together, we decide to be the light, and the light of Bethlehem is the light of the world.” In the past two years, the square showed a nativity scene surrounded by rubble to honor Gaza’s situation. The war deeply affected Bethlehem, where 80% of the mostly Muslim city depends on tourism. Most people celebrating were locals, with some visitors. Tour guide Georgette Jackaman said, “Today is a day of joy, a day of hope, beginning of the return of normal life here.” French visitor Mona Riewer shared, “I came because I wanted to better understand what people in Palestine are going through, and you can sense people have been through a very hard time.” Families enjoyed the scout parade. Fadi Zoughbi’s children were thrilled by the marching bands. Irene Kirmiz, from Bethlehem now in Ramallah, said seeing people celebrate peace was “very emotional.” She added they waited hours at Israeli checkpoints to join the parade, showing the strong spirit of the community.