Christmas markets are already set up and operating in various cities around the Holy Land. You can't beat the main destination – Bethlehem – for a taste of the holiday spirit. The festivities began in November with a Christmas bazaar on Star Street featuring crafts and games, food and drinks traditional to the holiday, Christmas decorations, trees, lights and much more.

At the Bethlehem Peace Center in Manger Square, many tables and kiosks are selling the wares of local craftsmen, plus even from overseas like Italy and Norway.

 

A news conference on Monday illustrated – perhaps unintentionally – that there is something for everyone in Israel: In the same room a contingent of Hollywood celebrities spoke to the media about their experiences in the Holy Land while evangelical pastors from the United States answered questions about their own tour here.

Both groups were in Israel on vastly different tailor-made tours, but as guests of America's Voices in Israel, an organization that aims to bolster Israel’s image in the United States.

While the celebrities were experiencing night life, floating in the Dead Sea and enjoying raucous jeep rides in the Golan, the pastors were meeting with government off...]]> A total of 90,000 tourists are expected to arrive in Israel over the Christmas holiday, a third of which are pilgrims for the Christian holiday, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

Some 2.1 million Christian tourists will have visited Israel by the end of the year.

“The Christian community along its many denominations and hundreds of million of believers, is a central anchor to Israel’s incoming tourism industry,” said Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov. “The Ministry of Tourism is working year round with communities in Israel and abroad to promote cooperation with leaders and believers from aro...]]>  

On Thursday, Catholics will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which falls on Dec. 8 and provides a fitting segue into the Christmas season.

Many times the name of the feast is confused with the Annunciation, an event celebrating the conception of Christ when the angel announced to Mary that she would bear a son who would become the Messiah. That is observed on March 25, nine months before Christmas.

But the Immaculate Conception is about the conception of the immaculate mother. Mary was believed to be conceived on this day in the womb of her mother Saint Anne. Nine months later, on Sept. 8, th...]]>