Bethlehem marks hopeful Christmas
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Christmas celebrations have been held at the Church of Nativity in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem, the historic birthplace of Jesus Christ.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem on Monday for a Christmas mass promoted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western powers as a chance to highlight the benefits of peacemaking.
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Pope John Paul II ushered in Christmas on Friday by celebrating midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, praying that world leaders will strive for peace and that Jews, Muslims and Christians will live harmoniously in the Holy Land.
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Gloom was banished from Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem for the first time in years on Monday as Christian pilgrims from all over the world flocked here to celebrate Jesus' birth in an atmosphere of renewed tranquility.
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In the latest sign that Israeli-Palestinian relations are warming since the death of Yasser Arafat, Israel is allowing free travel into Bethlehem this Christmas Eve.
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Interim Palestinian leader and presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas reads the order of service during the Christmas midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Saturday Dec. 25, 2004.
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Pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of Jesusâ birth with prayers for peace on Saturday, lifted by fresh hope following Yasser Arafat&#39;s death.
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THE OLD Christmas carolâs âlittle townâ is now a city larger than Charleston, and itâsa depressing place. Four years ago, more than 91,000 tourists visited in a year to see Bethlehemâs religious
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Religious harmony is on full display in a year when Christmas and the Muslim holiday of Tabaski fall within days of each other.
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Israeli soldiers sent sweets and Christmas greetings to Palestinians in Bethlehem today, the latest sign that relations between the sides have warmed since the death of Yasser Arafat.
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In the birthplace of Jesus, Muslims and Christians used to celebrate the season in peace. A TIME correspondent recalls holidays past in a troubled land
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By American News, Aberdeen, S.D.  Dec. 14--The choir of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Groton will present a Christmas musical, called "Journey of Hope," Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. at the church.
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Four years of violence, an economic free fall and the rapidly rising Israeli separation barrier have all contributed to the hardships facing Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, one of the largest concentrations of Christians in the region.
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Worshippers brought hopes for greater peace in the coming year as they flocked to Manger Square in Bethlehem and to St. Peter&#39;s in the Vatican to hear Christmas messages urging an end to violence, particularly in the Middle East.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Muslims and Christians united in the hope that the festive season will herald a new dawn after four years of violence, attending midnight mass in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
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Retailers look set to see a pick-up in Christmas trade in the coming days, despite grim predictions earlier in the season.
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Several thousand pilgrims celebrated Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus on Friday, welcoming the new thaw in Israeli-Palestinian relations and voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.