BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Hundreds of Christian faithful have filled the ancient church that marks Jesus' traditional birthplace for Christmas Mass, undeterred by pouring rain and harsh winds.
Worshippers on Sunday rushed into the Church of the Nativity under the cover of umbrellas, leaving Manger Square, with its 50-foot-tall (15-meter-tall) Christmas tree, deserted.
Inside the bustling church, supplicants — many of them foreign — raised their voices in prayer, kissed a plaster statue of Baby Jesus and took communion.
On Christmas Eve, the turnout in Bethlehem was at its highest since a violent uprising against Israel drove away tourism more than a decade ago.
