As Christmas Day approaches, the occasion has extra poignancy for Blackburn with Darwen’s acting mayor Coun Karimeh Foster – she was born and grew up in Bethlehem.

CHRISTMAS for Karimeh Foster was ‘a true sense of community’ in the shadows of the some of the most sacred Christian sites in the world.

Karimeh, 59, who is a Christian Palestinian, said she didn’t experience any problems with people of other religions during her time in Bethlehem.

She said: “My family were very religious and we would attend church often, daily in the run up to Christmas.

“My twin brother Karim and I were the youngest in the family and I remember us taking part in parades and other activities.

“The focal point of the town’s celebrations was an enormous tree.

"As children we would take great care in making our decorations and when were allowed to hang them on the tree it felt like a great privilege.

“There was a great sense of unity among the people of Bethlehem.

"During celebrations I clearly remember Muslim religious leaders at the head of the parade and it seemed everyone took part.”

Among the sacred locations in the town and a place where Karimeh worshipped was The Church of the Nativity.

The structure is built over the cave hailed as the birthplace of Jesus and is considered sacred by followers of both Christianity and Islam.

Its construction started in 327 and contains the Altar of the Nativity, beneath which is the star marking the spot where tradition says the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Bethlehem is also home to the Shepherds’ Fields, where in the nativity story an angel appeared before the shepherds at night before guiding them to town to witness Christ’s birth.

“It seemed like thousands of people each day would be in Bethlehem visiting these sites,” said Karimeh.

“We used to joke that we were always outnumbered by the tourists.”

In her 20s Karimeh spent eight years in the Jordanian military as a second lieutenant.

She was sent to a college in Kingston-upon-Thames to study a course in casualty and administration.

It was there she met David Foster, a native of Darwen, whose brother was a tutor at Brompton Hospital.

Karimeh and David married, and she settled in Darwen. The couple are both councillors for the Whitehall ward.

Karimeh has recently been undertaking the majority of mayoral engagements in Blackburn and Darwen as this year’s mayor, councillor Sheila Williams, is ill.

While Karimeh is proud to carry out the role during the festive period, Christmas is bittersweet for Coun Foster as she has not returned to her birthplace since just before the Six-Day War in 1967. Bethlehem was subsequently occupied by Israel, along with the rest of the West Bank.

She said: “Christmas is all about peace and harmony but there has been very little of that for Bethlehem in recent decades.

"I have not been back since. I was 16 and my family moved to Jordan.

“There are now settlements on the land and orchards that my family owns. It fills me with sadness.”