Crowd gathers in Bethlehem for Christmas procession

More than 1,000 people gathered in Bethlehem’s Manger Square today, listening to carols playing through loudspeakers and watching the annual Christmas Eve procession into the church that holds the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

As incense wafted nearby, priests and altar boys lined the entrance to the church during the annual parade of religious leaders into the Church of the Nativity.