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Tuesday, December 24, 1957 THE CUNTON CHRONICLE LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM CHANGES ONLY SUGHTLY Bethlehem, Jordan, Dec. 17—On the Plain of Boaz to the east, little Beduoin girls follow the wheat har vesters to glean bits of grain. Men in flowing headdress trudge along rocky trails from the south accom|>anied by women, children and baggage. The whine of reed flutes from disUnt slopes heralds the passing of lonely shepherds watching their flocks. Identical scenes might have wel comed the Holy Family on the out skirts of the little town of Bethle hem the day Christ was born. At the time of Christ’s birth Beth lehem was a market town for rural people, especially for Beduoins to the east and south. In this respect, the town has not changed- As long ago as David’s timejpOO years before Christ, David’s son, Chamaan, built a caravanseri here which served as sheker for Be douins and their flocks as they moved in and out of the town. That same caravanseri was probably the inn. where Joseph and Mary were un able to find lodging. TTie cara vanseri . has disappeared but the same kind of Bedouins still come to Bethlehem. Marked by the typical Arab head dress falling down over the neck and shoulders, the wide-shoulder ed cloaks and their loping gait, these Bedouins throng Bethlehem’s streets almost any dav They come in to buy and sell on a kieager scale and spend long hours rrtsxrude side walk cafes sipping tlmhble-sized cups of bitter Arab coffee. The market place for these peo ple is an open- square paved with flagstones." The grain, rice, vege tables or old clothes for sale are displayed 'on flat trays on the ground or stacked in crude tempor ary wooden stalls. ^ The settled inhabitants of Beth- 1 e h e m’s population, numbering around 10,000 live in a city which still bears the mark of the Crusad ers. The overwhelmnig majority of -the population is Christian; only one Moslem minaret competes with innumerable church spires and domes in Bethlehem’s skyline. These people live in stone hous es, many of them with low domes as protection against summer heat and winter rain. Some of their hous es date back to Crusader times. Many open into cobblestone streets barely wdie dhoogh to accommo date an- automobile. The arched gateways and vaulted roofs stretch ing across the streets recall the medieval Europe of the Crusades. Costumes of the women of Beth lehem bear the Crusader mark. Those who wear traditional dress have long full garments, usually black or dark red, decorated with square stitched red or gold embroi dery, usually in the form of a Cru sader’s cross. These women wear a headdress found only in Bethlehem and un- knwon in the rest of Palestine. Ibis is a conical shaped high hat, cov ered with a .large white veil. When Christ was born the people of Bethlehem lived largely from sheep raising and olive growing. Many live from the same occupa tion today. Olive groves braced with stone terraces fall away from the edge of the town to the Plain •f Boaz beolw. On the plain >vheat is grown. Here Ruth of the Old Tes tament story gleaned behind the harvesters, just as Bedouin girls do today. Many Bethlehem inhabitants own oflcks of sheep or goats in addition to the land they till. Caring fof , these sheep dictates a way of life unchanged since the night shep herds on nearby slopes heard the angels sing of the new-born 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, clambering over the rocky hillsides to find bits of grass and shrubs. A new element has been added to Bethlehem’s population since 1948 —Arab refugees from Israel. Driv en from, their homes by the Arab- Israel war, these pepole live in the outskirts of the town in tents, ho vels, and caves. Many a baby has beeh bom in the past seven years in circumstances similar to those of Jesus—in a grotto shared by animals, placed in a crude wooden crib made by the father. On Christmas Eve these refugees sit sullenly beside the road watch ing well-dressed tourists arrive for Christmas ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As there are no European standard ho tels in Bethlehem most visitors stay in Jerusalem. They drive back and forth for the Christmas Eve services which recount the inci dents of the day the Holy Family came into a crowded Bethlehem and found ^‘there was no room for them in the inn.” Almost for the finjj time in his tory, the shepherds of Bethlehem today have their freedom of move ment restricted. Within sight of their town is the ridlitary frontier dividing Arab Jordan from the newly created state of Israel. With the war still unsettled hhepherds are forbidden to approach the de marcation line, for fear of touching of a frontier Incident. ► . At noon each day shepherds must leave grazing grounds to find wa ter for the flocks. Many visit Solo- w men’s Pools near Bethlehem at midday. In the evening the shep herd carefully counts his flock as it enters the fold, one by one. The fold may be a little stable built by the shepherd. More often it is a limestone grotto, with the entrance practically closed, to admit only one anhnid at a time. Bethlehem’s status as the birth$ place of Christ has given the town a new modern industry—touriim. 'Hie dtherwsie sleepy ’ little town ranks as one of the foremost sites of religious pilgrimage in the world and Avery year it is visited by thou sands of tourists from all conti nents. It is the center of numerous religious orders and institutions^ all type*—Catholic, Orthodox, Ar menian, Protestant. The varied dress of friars, priests, nuns, sis- ter*, add to the color of native cos tume*. . - Many modern Bethlehemites make -q living carving objects of piety from mother of pearl, Dead Sea Stone and olive wood. These souvenirs, along with embroidered and brocaded Crusaders' jackets are offered for sale in small shops not far from the Church of the Na tivity, where Christ was bom. The shopkeepers lounge in the the sun in the sidewalk cafes, waiting for tourists to arrive at the church. As soon as a tourist arrives—and they are easy to - spot—the shop keepers converge on him in a pack. Each offers his services as a guide. He will show the tourist through the church and all all the other Bethle hem at no charge. This offer may sound suspicious, but it js valid. The guide asks no money. At the end of the tour he invites the tourist to his shop for a rest and a cup of csoffee or tea —still with no obligation. ^* , _Once the visitor is seated the shopkeeper casually calls attention to the souvenirs he has to sell. The tourist is lucky if he can escape without buying. Tbe Canavati brothers, who once had a shop in Laredo, Texas, but Thousands Send Cards now have returned to their home- To First Family pe of ^ land, are masters of this type salesmanship and claim to have pioneered it.' - "" Business is slow for these peo ple most of the year, but when [and Mrs Eisenhower Christmas c.o m e s, Bethlehe'm’s Last year some*15,000 Americans sent Christmas cards to President Spiced crabapples a^e especially tasty when baked for a few miwqtef and served.bot Sprinkle with a lit tle sugar, and then slip them under c,o m e s, Bethlehem's 1 This number was almost twice the broiler L'se on awing of pars- populatibn more than doubles for the total received by the Eisenhow- ley surrdUrding the turkey era the year before. About 75 per cent of the senders wrote personal messages on their cards laM year and moat of them said they were praying for the First Family. 1 ‘ '< „• r 0 % • * , ’ v The quiet peacefulness of the Christmas season is with us again and as w§ reverently observe this minded of the fine friendships and glorious pleasant occasion, we are re- *. ' . V relationships of . the past. For th^se^we are thankful and wish for each of you r * ‘ , truly a Happy and Joyous Christmas COTTON MILLS