(24 Dec 1999) English/Nat
The little town of Bethlehem is beginning its celebrations of the century.
Police tightened security as bagpipes played and thousands of visitors - including Yasser Arafat - poured in to celebrate the last Christmas of the Millennium in the town where Jesus was born.
However, there are warnings that political and religious extremists may cause violence.
Brushing aside security fears, celebrants thronged Bethlehem, the town of Jesus' birth, for joyous but heavily guarded festivities on the last Christmas Eve of the millennium.
The festivities' highlight traditionally is the midnight Mass presided over by Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, in the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square.
The church is built over the grotto where Christian tradition says Jesus' birth took place.
Sabbah made his grand entrance into the city on Friday in a religious procession preceded by Palestinian marching bands that provided enthusiastic renditions of marching songs and Christmas carols.
Dressed in bright-pink ceremonial robes and headpiece, the patriarch visited Rachel's Tomb, where he was received by Bethlehem's Mayor, the parish priest and others.
Bethlehem - and Manger Square in particular - may receive an expected 60-thousand pilgrims and tourists over the next week and security has been tightened amid threats of terrorist attacks.
Hundreds of Palestinian police have been deployed to maintain the peace.
Early in the day, rows of officers received final instructions from their commanders before spreading out through the area.
In all, about three-thousand officers have been deployed in the city, up from the usual contingent of several hundred.
Despite the heavy police presence and warnings from the U-S State Department, tourists and pilgrims are enjoying the experience.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
\"It's just a special day to be here where it all started from two-thousand years ago. It's an exciting time. It's extra special to me.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop Tourist
SOUNDBITE: (English)
\"Its a beautiful place. This was where Jesus was born and we're all here to celebrate that.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop Tourist
Bethlehem spent more than a year and (M) millions of dollars in renovations in anticipation of the tourists invasion on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and during 2000.
Manger Square itself got a major facelift, including a stone-paved pedestrian plaza that replaced what used to be a scruffy parking lot for tour buses.
The city's mayor hopes Bethlehem will come to symbolise a greater peace for the new century.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
\"The message of this city was always peace, because in this city the prince of peace was born. And we continue holding this message until we have peace prevailing in this region.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Hanna Nasser, Mayor of Bethlehem
Amid the festivities, Palestinians used the occasion to cast a spotlight on their aspirations for statehood.
In the hours before the midnight Mass, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met a parade of visiting foreign leaders, including the prime ministers of Spain and Italy.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
(Q: Do you have a message for the Israelis today?)
\"We hope that they will live up to their line: to push forward the peace process.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority
Arafat's wife, Soha was on hand for the festivities, as was the couple's young daughter.
Also on Friday, Muslims, in their third week of Ramadan, held noon prayers at the Temple mount.
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