A Palestinian Muslim woman takes pictures in Manger Square, the central plaza next to the Church of the Nativity.

A Palestinian Muslim woman takes pictures in Manger Square, the central plaza next to the Church of the Nativity. Photo: AFP

Tens of thousands of tourists and Christian pilgrims have packed the West Bank town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations, bringing holiday cheer to the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

With turnout at its highest in more than a decade on Saturday, proud Palestinian officials said they were praying the celebrations would bring them closer to their dream of independence.

Bethlehem, like the rest of the West Bank, fell onto hard times after the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out in late 2000. As the fighting has subsided in recent years, the tourists have returned in large numbers.

A Christian pilgrim from Nigeria dressed as Santa Claus visits the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Click for more photos

Christmas around the world, 2011

A Christian pilgrim from Nigeria dressed as Santa Claus visits the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Photo: AFP

  • A Christian pilgrim from Nigeria dressed as Santa Claus visits the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
  • Indonesian Christians hold candles as they pray on Christmas eve at a cathedral in Surabaya, in Indonesia's East Java.
  • People in Santa Claus costumes take part in the annual race in downtown Belgrade, Serbia.
  • Worshippers light candles in the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
  • A street child smiles as he puts on a Santa Claus hat in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Christmas Day, in New Delhi, India.
  • A water skiing Santa Claus skis down the chilly waters of the Potomac River with a kneeboarding elf .
  • San Francisco 49ers fans yell during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington.
  • People take part during the unveiling ceremony of the crib in St Peter's Square at the Vatican.
  • A devotee holds candles as a boy peeps through a railing during a prayer at the Infant Jesus Shrine on Christmas Day, in Bangalore, India.
  • Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, greets well-wishers after leaving a Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk in east England.
  • Britain's Queen Elizabeth accepts flowers from children as she leaves a Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk in east England.
  • Palestinian Christian boys hold candles during a service in the Saint Porfirios church in Gaza City.
  • A woman lights a candle during the Christmas mass in Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia.
  • Pakistani Christians look at decorations during Christmas celebrations in Islamabad.
  • Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal carries the statuette of baby Jesus during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity.
  • Pakistani boy Simon Saleem, 9, plays with a toy gun while he and other children celebrate Christmas day in a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad, Pakistan.
  • People take pictures around the Christmas tree at Tanglin Mall in Singapore's famous shopping district.
  • Iraqi girls attend a Christmas mass at Chaldean Catholic church in Amman.
  • Dressed as Santa Claus, a fan cheers during the Christmas Eve game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Chinese children sing Christmas songs for customers at a shopping center in Beijing, China.
  • Job done. Chinese children rest after singing Christmas songs for customers at a shopping center in Beijing, China.
  • A Palestinian Christian lights a candle at the Latin Church in the West Bank village of  Zababdah, near Jenin.
  • An Egyptian armenian girl looks back as her mother follows Christmas day mass in the Armenian Catholic Church of the Assumption in Cairo, Egypt.
  • A flying Elf skis down the chilly waters of the Potomac River on a hydrofoil water ski.
  • Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Christmas mass at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

By late night, the Israeli military, which controls movement in and out of town, said some 100,000 visitors, including foreigners and Arab Christians from Israel, had reached Bethlehem, up from 70,000 the previous year.

Thousands of Palestinians from inside West Bank also converged on the town.

"It's wonderful to be where Jesus was born," said Irma Goldsmith, 68, of Suffolk, Virginia. "I watch Christmas in Bethlehem each year on TV, but to be here in person is different. To be in the spot where our saviour was born is amazing."

After nightfall, a packed Manger Square, along with a 50-foot-tall (15-metre-tall) Christmas tree, was awash in Christmas lights.

Festivities were to culminate with Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born.

Among the visitors were a surprisingly large number of veiled Muslim women with their families.

"We love to share this holiday with our Christian brothers," said Amal Ayash, 46, who came to Manger Square with her three daughters, all of them covered in veils.

Israel turned Bethlehem over to Palestinian civil control a few days before Christmas in 1995, and since then, residents have been celebrating the holiday regardless of their religion.

Pilgrims from around the world also wandered the streets, singing Christmas carols and visiting churches.

John Houston, 58, from Long Beach, California said: "It makes me feel really good to see what I have been learning from the time I was a kid in Sunday school until today."

Houston said he was surprised by Bethlehem's appearance, which is a far cry from the pastoral village of biblical times. Today, it is a sprawling town of cement apartment blocs and narrow streets.

Located on the southeastern outskirts of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is surrounded on three sides by a barrier Israel built to stop Palestinian militants from attacking last decade.

Palestinians say the barrier has damaged their economy by constricting movement in and out of town. Twenty-two per cent of Bethlehem residents are unemployed, the Palestinian Authority says.

Most visitors entering Bethlehem, including the top Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, had to cross through an Israeli-controlled checkpoint to reach town.

In his homily, he referred to the Arab Spring, imploring Arab leaders to have "wisdom, insight and a spirit of selflessness toward their countrymen" and praying for reconciliation in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and North Africa.

He also noted the Palestinian campaign to join the United Nations, and complained that the UN was "less than united" in its support for the now-stalled initiative. He also criticised the international community for pushing the Palestinians to "re-engage in a failed peace process".

The patriarch lamented the Israeli barrier enveloping Bethlehem - "let us tear down the walls of our hearts in order to tear down the walls of concrete" - and prayed for peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.

With peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians are seeking membership as a state in the United Nations and recently gained admission to UNESCO, the UN cultural agency.

"We are celebrating this Christmas hoping that in the near future we'll get our right to self-determination, our right to establish our own democratic, secular Palestinian state on the Palestinian land. That is why this Christmas is unique," said Mayor Victor Batarseh, who is Christian.

Late Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told a meeting of Christian leaders that he is committed to reaching peace with Israel, despite a three-year standstill in negotiations.

Today, only about one-third of Bethlehem's residents are Christian, reflecting a broader exodus of Christians from the Middle East in recent decades.

AP