AS our tree lights twinkle, we revel in the company of our nearest and dearest and take a well-earned rest from work – but the stark and ugly contrast of this Christmas season is one not to be forgotten.

Most of us in this country grew up, whether religious or not, learning about the birth story of Jesus Christ. We listened intently, year after year, as we were told of how Christmas came to be – I have fond memories of learning and reciting songs such as Away in a Manger to mark the occasion.

We became well-versed in how he was born in a manger in Bethlehem, after finding nowhere to stay, and many of us annually played out the story on stage to an audience of our cooing parents.

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Bethlehem is home to a diverse population of multiple faiths. It is a renowned place of peace and holy significance. In a region often marked by geopolitical difficulty, Bethlehem stands as a rich example of the peace and coexistence sought – and exemplified – by its people.

And owing to that significance, the holiday season in Bethlehem is usually quite the celebration. Extending open arms to swathes of tourists and pilgrims, lights decorate every street and Christmas music plays loudly for all to hear as the city prepares to celebrate.

This year, there are no lights, and the music has fallen silent. The shops are closed, and the restaurants are shuttered. The queue for the Church of the Nativity, usually snaked round the square, is noticeably absent.

In its place – devastation and destruction.

The sound of violence and persecution serves as a haunting backdrop to the prayers of those yearning for peace in their homeland. There is simply no celebration to be found.

For the first time in recent history, Manger Square – home to the Church of the Nativity – is bare. No Christmas tree stands in the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born. Because this year, Christmas in Bethlehem is cancelled.

I can’t begin to put into words how crass it feels to be celebrating Christmas, and indulging in all of the traditions that have been born from it, while the very birthplace of the entire holiday is subject to such brutality and violence. Its people unable to celebrate the origins of the holiday that is so integral to the identity of their land.

As we in the West prepared to sit down to our turkey dinner this Christmas Day, Bethlehem was subject to raids by occupying Israeli forces. A key element of the Christmas story, almost always left out of the narrative when taught in the West, is that Bethlehem is a city in Palestine. And with Palestine currently under relentless attack, it seems not even Bethlehem, one of the holiest sites in the Christian faith, could be spared this holiday season.

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This is of course despite the fact that Bethlehem lies in the Palestinian West Bank, which is not under Hamas control and has little Hamas presence. In an 82-day “conflict” supposedly targeting Hamas terrorists, 303 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Bethlehem’s neighbouring territories in the West Bank.

It’s almost as if the justifications we are being fed about this “conflict” have no real standing at all. And from what I have witnessed over the last two and a half months, no justification could ever provide a satisfactory explanation.

The global festive spirit this year lies in contrast with images of slain children and forcibly displaced people, desperately searching for food and water. Of a former sports stadium, now being used by Israeli forces as a humiliating forced-detention centre for innocent Palestinian civilians. Of journalists, doctors and humanitarian aid workers fearing for their lives. Of the harrowing depiction of a nativity scene, laying amongst the rubble.

Nothing about the horrors unfolding across Palestine are conducive with the spirit or meaning of Christmas. And yet we press on with our celebrations, while those who live in its birthplace are robbed of theirs.

It prompts a re-evaluation of the true essence of Christmas, a season of supposed compassion, empathy and goodwill.

And it raises several questions: Do our festivities contribute to the indifference that allows violence of this kind to persist?

If Christmas is cancelled in Bethlehem this year, shouldn’t we have had the good sense and compassion to cancel it for ourselves? If not just in solidarity with our fellow human beings, out of respect for its true purpose?

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The celebration of Christmas should be a testament to our shared humanity. We should leverage it as such every year, but especially this year when this kind of immeasurable suffering is plain for us to see.

We should be extending our celebrations beyond the warmth and safety of our own homes, to fight for the justice and peace that underpins the holiday that we are fortunate enough to enjoy. For humanity everywhere, particularly in corners of the world where it is starkly lacking.

Instead of turning a blind eye, we have a responsibility this year to face our discomfort head on. To acknowledge that ignorantly celebrating Christmas as a genocide unfolds in its birthplace is a moral bankruptcy unlike any other.

We are challenged this year, more than any other, to move beyond the superficial trappings of the festive season and put the Christmas spirit into practice.

So as you celebrate, rest, and enjoy the festivities with your loved ones, spare a thought for those in Palestine unable to indulge in the celebration birthed on their land.

Indifference is an insult to the holiday season itself.