This archive report was first published on 25 December 2019.
On Christmas Day in 2019, the biblical city of Bethlehem welcomed pilgrims from around the world to celebrate the holiday in the Holy Land.
The city, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, was bustling with activity as Palestinians and foreigners converged on the "little town" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Christmas Eve festivities took place in and around the Church of the Nativity, with tourists queuing to visit the grotto believed to be the exact site where Jesus was born.
"It's a special day," said Ola, a Nigerian visitor, as she joined hundreds of others outside in the winter sun to watch Palestinian scouts parade to the sound of drums.
Germana, an Italian travelling with her husband and two children, felt "really emotional" to be in Bethlehem, describing it as "wonderful".
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, led midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in attendance.
Bethlehem is close to Jerusalem but is cut off from the holy city by Israel's separation barrier.
The first church was built on the site in the fourth century, though it was replaced after a fire in the sixth century.
This year's celebrations were bolstered by the return of a wooden fragment believed to be from the manger of Jesus, which had been in Europe for over 1,300 years before being returned last month.
Francesco Patton, chief custodian for the Holy Land, said the relic was venerated because it reminded people of the mystery of incarnation and the fact that the son of God was born of Mary in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago.
Despite challenges and difficulties, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza remained a place of hope, with Wadie Abunassar, an adviser to church leaders, saying Christmas remained a time for hope.
