MIDEAST-RELIGION-CHRISTMAS-BETHLEHEM

A man lights special oil lamps for Christmas by an altar showing the nativity scene at the Grotto, believed to be the exact point where Jesus Christ was born, at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem on December 22, 2008. Christian worshippers began their spiritual preparations ahead of Christmas Eve on December 24. AFP PHOTO/GALI TIBBON