He also covered the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in May 2002.
CNN: CNN Profiles - Matthew Chance - Senior International Correspondent
Mr Obama was accompanied on his visit of the Church of the Nativity by President Abbas.
The event follows on from the previous live events Manchester Passion and Liverpool Nativity.
Brown recalls a nativity play in which the boy playing Herod was off sick.
Balancing these are numberless images of devotional scenes, the Nativity, the Madonna and other religious figures.
The Pope also said the notion of animals in the stable were latter-day additions to the nativity scene.
Follow the stars and you're confronted by row upon row of wrapping paper, decorative ribbons and hand-painted Nativity sets.
There are no religious studies (let alone nativity plays) in state schools, nor may public workers sport the headscarf.
He said the nativity story in St Luke's Gospel, in contrast, had a "message of joy and good news for everyone".
As well as children missing lessons, she said the children's work and even their nativity costumes were ruined in the floods.
Nativity plays or carol concerts in state primary schools are unthinkable, as would be the swearing-in of presidents over the Bible.
That's current population survey data from the March survey, which includes nativity.
Where a Nativity won't do, and a robin on a pudding would be crass, angels fill the yawning space with beauty and taste.
O'Connor agreed with the majority in a 1984 case that a city-sponsored nativity scene did not violate the constitutional ban on government endorsement of religion.
In Bethlehem itself, Christmas Eve Mass was celebrated at the 1, 700-year-old Church of the Nativity, on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born.
The faithful leave votive candles one this week was in a Christmas tree-shaped lantern decorated with a nativity scene and other offerings at the base of the statue.
WSJ: Poland's Big Statue of Jesus Draws Pilgrims, Though Rivals Belittle It
During this week's visit, Mr Obama is due to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
Local raw materials--say, olive wood from the West Bank for a Nativity scene or wool from alpacas raised in the Andes foothills for a knit hat--are favored.
The Church of the Nativity and pilgrimage route, Bethlehem (Palestine) will be processed on an emergency basis and the documents that concern it are not yet available.
President Obama said that this year was particularly special for him because he visited the Holy Land just before Easter, including the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem.
She's cast to carry Mary in the local Nativity play.
WSJ: Hee Haw! Donkeys Get Last Laugh As One Greek Tragedy Ends Happily
As an infant, he played baby Jesus in his local Nativity play, and as a teen, he would strum his guitar playing gospel songs for his church youth group.
"We've got two trains going into a tunnel, a moving ski-slope which was hand-built, a church and nativity scene, " said Ms Hales, who helps decorate her partner's parents' bungalow.
Today it is the last bastion of resistance in the re-occupied West Bank, as Palestinians and Israeli soldiers engage in a bitter, snarling contest around the Church of the Nativity.
ECONOMIST: The Palestinians' last stand in the Church of the Nativity
At the carol service, a packed hall enjoy the women's choir, watch the nativity play acted by children dressed in towels and blankets and listen to the army leader's humorous address.
There is genuine fear that the holiest sites of Christianity, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, will become mere museums.
"He said he wanted to pray at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve, even though he knew it was illegal for him to leave Israel, " police spokesman Gil Kleiman said.
But he told the court many visitors were not happy with the promised snow-covered log cabins, a nativity scene, husky dogs, polar bears and other animals, as well as a bustling Christmas market.
The conservation team also reviewed the microclimate in the Temple and the restoration of the three monuments, the Asoka Pillar, the Marker Stone and the Nativity Sculpture carried out in 2011 and 2012.
Israel and the Palestinians held talks to try to end the stand-off at Bethlehem where about 300 people have been under siege in the Church of the Nativity for the past three weeks.
应用推荐