Hello all! Being that
it’s that time of year again, I’ve decided to make a short post concerning the
historical places associated with the original Christmas—the birth of Jesus Christ,
founder of the Christian religion. I’ll also briefly comment on the status of
Christians in the Holy Land today.
Staring
down at the glazed, broken tiles of the Madaba Map, it is difficult to imagine
that any of the places it portrays are real. The Map has an almost surreal
quality to it, with fish jumping from millennia-old streams and classical
columns holding up the disproportionate buildings. If the map had been drawn to
scale, cities would stretch for hundreds of miles, and odd-looking sea vessels
would be able to span the Mediterranean. To me it seemed almost laughable at
first. Then something caught my eye—the dusty and barely visible Greek word Βηθλεέμ.
Bethlehem.
Like the
founders of other major religions, such as the Prophet Mohammed, it is almost certain
that Jesus Christ was a historical figure. However, the only real account of
his life exists in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This narrative
begins with the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, a small town just south of
Jerusalem.
Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. Therefore, it can be
argued that Christmas started in Bethlehem. This event makes it one of the most
important sites of Christian pilgrimage in the Holy Land.
I have
always wondered why Christians in the Holy Land (modern Israel and its
neighbors) are such a tiny minority. Historically, the Holy Land has been
occupied at one time or another by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and often more
than one at a time. For centuries it was almost completely Christian.
Today,
though, it is almost completely occupied by Jews and Muslims, with Christians
numbering less than 2% of the population in many places. Even that number is in danger of shrinking--soon, Christians might disappear completely from the land where Christianity was born.
As it
stands today, these are the primary sites of Christian pilgrimage: Bethlehem,
where Jesus was born, Nazareth, where he grew up, and Jerusalem, where he died.
Sadly, I
was not able to visit Bethlehem due to time constraints, but many Christian
pilgrims still visit every year, especially around Christmas. However, many
more are dissuaded from visiting because modern Bethlehem is located within the
West Bank, a hotbed of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
The main
churches are listed by UNESCO as endangered world heritage sites, and there are
sporadic outbreaks of violence. Getting permission to visit is difficult.
It is
the sad but true situation that the Holy Land, sacred to Jews, Christians, and
Muslims, has historically been a center for violence, and it certainly hasn't
calmed down in the modern era. Regardless, I felt very safe during my time in
the Middle East, and I hope that with the proper precautions, people continue to visit these amazing places.
Anyway,
the focus of pilgrimage to Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity, a small
church maintained by the even smaller Palestinian Christian community. The main
body of the church covers a cave which traditionally marks the birthplace of
Jesus. Of course, this is almost entirely speculation, as no one was around to
mark the exact location of Jesus’ birth. Still, I think it is moving to realize
that pilgrims have come here for almost two millennia, paying their respects to
the birthplace of Christ.
Now I
would like to briefly change gears. There has been a fair amount of Biblical
scholarship that suggests the true location of the birth of Christ was not actually
Bethlehem at all. Christmas may really have started in Nazareth. It is true that Jesus spends
much of the Bible in and around Nazareth. Was that where he was born as well?
There
are several things that make this interpretation seem reasonable to me. For
one, the birth of Jesus is really the only event that takes place in Bethlehem.
In the Bible, Jesus grows up in Nazareth and spends much of his adult life
there.
The writers of the Bible may have changed his birthplace to Bethlehem in
order to symbolically establish his connection to King David, an ancestor of
Jesus who was also born in Bethlehem. But ultimately, this mystery will probably
never be resolved—and that’s okay. It’s the story of Christmas that counts.
Truly,
walking up to the massive Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, I could see
the power of story in action. As often at monuments such as this, my neck
was sore from looking almost permanently straight up. I shuffled along with the
others, a healthy mix of pilgrims and tourists that exists at most sights in the
Holy Land. Gradually we made our way inside.
“Whoa.”
I let out a long exhale as I stepped into the interior of the church. The
central hall was formed by two levels, one stacked upon the other, and both
ornately decorated in the Roman Catholic tradition. The second level was a
stream of color, containing row upon row of elaborate artworks donated by Christians
of various nations. The first level was plain, but it seemed to naturally
provide a sacred space that enveloped visitors in silence.
All of
this crowned the central altar of the church, its most holy spot. But there was
no altar. Instead there was a shallow pit, lit only by candlelight, from which
vague chanting could be heard. This was the Grotto of the Annunciation, to many
the holiest site in Nazareth. Soon I was at the edge of the pit, looking down.
In it was the altar, the center of the church, in front of a small cave. I
spent the next few minutes paying my respects in silence.
According
to tradition, this cave is where the Angel Gabriel announced (Annunciation) to
Mary that she would have a son, who would become Jesus. The Basilica over it
was built at the same time as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and is
viewed by many as having equal importance. The Annunciation is really the first
event in the story of Jesus Christ.
Would it then, perhaps, be valid to say
that Christmas began here? That, I suppose, is a matter of individual
interpretation. Certainly Christmas can be traced back to real history and
connected to real places. But whether you are a Christian, a historian, or
merely curious, the true origin of Christmas is probably best left to
faith.
