In Bethlehem, a stronger feeling of Christmas this year
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A limited easing of security tensions raises hopes for a better Christmas.
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Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join festivities in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
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Thousands of pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of Jesus's birth Saturday with prayers for peace after the death of Yasser Arafat.
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In the new optimism of the Mideast, Bethlehem finds itself blessed with more visitors this year than at any time since the Palestinian offensive began in 2000 â-n fact, twice as many in 2004 than in 2003.
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Encouraged by renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Christian pilgrims from around the world converged on Jesus' traditional birthplace Monday to celebrate Christmas Â a palpable contrast to the sparse crowds of recent years.
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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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In the latest sign that Israeli-Palestinian relations are warming since the death of Yasser Arafat, Israel is allowing easier travel into Bethlehem this Christmas.
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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's in the Vatican to hear Christmas messages urging an end to violence, particularly in the Middle East. But from Indonesia to Iraq, fear overshadowed the festivities.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank, DEC. 22, 2004 .- The Israeli government announced that it would not prevent Israeli Christians from visiting Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations.
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Israel is taking special steps to insure a merry Christmas in Bethlehem, an Israeli military official said Thursday, raising hopes for a gentler holiday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus after four years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
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Consumer confidence increased slightly across the region going into the Christmas shopping season, although it remains below its levels of a year before.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 24 -- Encouraged by renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Christian pilgrims from around the world converged on Jesus's traditional birthplace Monday to celebrate Christmas -- a palpable contrast to the sparse crowds of recent years.
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TIKRIT, Iraq, Dec. 25  -- The roaring bonfire licked the dark sky as Jennifer and Jeremiah Pray leaned closer to the pulsing warmth. Their faces glowing, their eyes bright, they relished their first Christmas Eve together in more than three years of marriage, not to mention the brief respite from the war going on around them.
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Christians around the world have begun celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, with observances marking Christmas Eve. In Bethlehem, the town of Jesus&#39;s birth, Israel has relaxed travel restrictions
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Thousands of pilgrims and  a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town  of Jesus's birth Saturday with prayers for peace after the  death of Yasser Arafat.
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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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HOUSTON That white pinpoint of light racing across the sky before dawn on Christmas morning won&#39;t be Santa&#39;s sleigh or the star that guided the Wise Men to Bethlehem.