Bethlehem changed
■pccammodiate an automobile.
The arched gateways and vault
«d roofs stretchinlg across the
street s recall the melieval Eu
rope of the Crusades.
Costumes of the women of
Bethlehem bear the Crusader
mark. Those who wear tradi
'tional dress have long full gar
ments, usually bltadk or dark
red, decorated with square-siitit
ched red or gold emlbroidery,
usually in the form of a Cru
sader’s cross,
These women wear a head
dress found only in Bethlehem
and unknown in the rest of
Palestine. This is a conical
shaped high hat, covered with
a large white veil.
The conibal dress usually is
worn by older women; younger
ones wear the white scarf with
out the high hat. Since most of
these women are Christian,
their (faces are rarely covered.
When Christ was bom, the
people of Bethlehem lived large
3y from sheap-ra'i sting and olive
growing. Many live from he
r
| same occupation's today.
Olive groves braced with
stone terraces fall away from
; bhe edige of the town to the
(Plain of Boaz below. On the
j plain wheal, is grown. Here
Ruth of the Old Testament sitory
gleaned behind the harvesters, i
just as Bedouin girls do today.
(Many Bethlehem inhabitants
own flocks of sheep or goats
in addition to the land they
till. Caring for these sheep dic
tates a way of lif e usdhianged
since the night shepherds on
neatfby slopes heard the Anlgels
sing of the Newborn King.
Shepherds daily leave the
town and take their flocks over
the same slopes where the
Angels sang. Sometimes they
travel 25 miles in a single day,
alamlberin)g> over the rocky hill
sides to find bits of grass and
shrubs.
A new element has been add
ed to Bethlehem’s population
since 1948 — Arab refugees
from Israel. Driven from their
homes by the Araib-Israel war,
these people live in the out
skirts of the town in tents, hov
jP'OR your patronage
and friendly good will
please accept our sin
cere thanks and
BEST
1 WISHES
' FOR
CHRISTMAS
John Peterson's Store
els, and oaves.
Many a ibaiby has been bom
in the past seven years in cir
cumstances similar to those of
Jesus — in a (grotto shared by
animals, placed in a crude wood
en crib made by the father.
On Christmas Eve. t hese re
fugees sife sullenly beside tbe
oread waftdhBiiDg well-dressed tour
ist'S arrive for Christmas cere
monies ait the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre. Since there
are no European-standard ho
tels at Bethelhem, most visitors
stay in Jerusalem.
Thev drive back and forth
for the Christmas Eve series
which recount the incidents off
the day the Holy 'Family came
; nto a crowded Bethlehem and
fmmd “There was no room for
, hem in the inn.”
(continued on paige twelve)
It’s not so much the phrasing of a Christmas greeting
i as the thought that prompts it. . and me
sincerity with which it is offered.
We sincerely wish you a very
Columbia Lumber Co. of Alaska
season’s
greetings
4f ; mu i)||»|i|iii I >.'■ j
■ ; .:■'
A
W&f* t
*
tf 1
May the Star of Bethlehem that gu; Jed the
wise men to the Christ Child shine for you 1
again this Christmas. May its light of 1
promise gleam softly and steadily over this :
beloved land of ours. May it lead us to >
greater wisdom and goodness in our deal
ings one with another. In expressing our
A Christinas wish may we also add our sin- j
cere thanks for all past courtesies.
Sitka Cold Storage Store