Bethlehem

Bethlehem is traditionally the birthplace of Jesus. As such it is revered by all Christians, who honour the birthplace of their Lord and Saviour by scrapping in its holy places[1][2][3][4] and endangering buildings by arguing about who has the right to repair them (as opposed to actually, y'know, repairing them).

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Other Bethlehems

Wikipedia lists ten Bethlehems in the USA, and one each in the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland and Wales. Bethlehem of Galilee is in northern Israel, and Bethlehem Chapel is in the Czech Republic. Confused? Try the Bethlem Royal Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in London which gave its name to the word Bedlam.

The Bethlehem in Pennsylvania was founded by members of the Moravian Church, a German-speaking Protestant sect, who had emigrated from Moravia Bohemia, within the present-day Czech Republic. One of this Bethlehem's tourist attractions is the "Holiday Putz Trail" at Christmas time, where people traditionally display "Christmas villages" (known as Christmas putzes in Bethlehem) and Nativity scenes.[5] This can cause some snickering among people who know a bit of Yiddish or Yiddish-influence English, for in German 'putz' only has non-obscene meanings but in Yiddish it means 'penis' or a 'stupid, worthless person'.

References

1. Monks fighting in 1905
2. Monks fighting in 1907
3. Monks fighting in 2007
4. Priests fight in Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, Palestinian police break up clergy with riot gear in 2011
5. Holiday Putz Trail Historic Bethlehem.

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