Brushing up for the Nativity_

IT WOULD seem that Father Christmas has little on his hands compared with the great preparations which take place in Bethlehem each year. This famous town, in fact, celebrates three different Christmases: Catholics have Christmas on 25th December, according to the Gregorian calendar; the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates it on 7th January by th.e Julian calendar; and the Armenians, who also go by the Julian calendar, have their festivities on 19th January, on the feast of Epiphany.
This prolonged Christmas season has an advantage in that
the various Christian denominations do not interfere with each other's celebrations in the Basilica of the Nativity. The Church, which was built over seventeen centuries ago, stands over the grotto believed to be Jesus' birthplace. Over the centuries, little additions were built, as various Christian communities laid claim to the holy site.
Throughout the year, the three main Christian denominations share the Basilica — as they do many other holy sites in Israel. Each has its own portion of the Church, or shares certain parts following an agreement established under the Ottoman Turks in 1757. The Egyptian Copts, being a smaller Christian denomination, have the right to worship in the Armenian section of the Basilica during a specified period on Christmas day (19th January).
The British Israel Public Affairs Committee informs me that the young Israeli official who oversees these proceedings is Mr Shmnel Hamburger, in charge of Israeli relations with Christian communities. Mr Hamburger ensures that Christmas celebrations take place with safety and religious decorum to the benefit of the thousands of pilgrims who flock to Bethlehem yearly. He is responsible for details of pageantry and matters of protocol. A clergyman travelling from Syria, for example, needs special permission to enter Israel for the holy day.
Shmnel Hamburger also has what must be a unique job: he is referee in the annual cleaning of the Basilica. Once every 365 days, certain stones are cleaned several times — once by each of the denominations claiming jurisdiction over them. After that, brooms and pails arc put away for another year.
Christmas in Bethlehem is a celebration not to be missed in one's lifetime. Bishops and Patriarchs process, and choirs lift up their voices in the night air over Manger Square.
The marvel of God made man echoes in many languages throughout the famous Basilica of the Nativity. Perhaps it is appropriate that such a mystery be celebrated not once, but three times, in Bethlehem.
Pia de Richemont