Bring Bethlehem and the Holy Land into your home for Christmas this year with Artza
Updated June 14, 2023.
This year, crowds of pilgrims from all over the world won’t be gathering in Manger Square in Bethlehem like they normally do to celebrate Christmas. In fact, the city where Jesus was born will be quiet this year, owing to the Coronavirus that has shut Israel’s borders and prevents tourists from all over the world from coming to visit Israel.
Yet that doesn’t mean one can’t experience a small taste of the city, the Land and its holiday festivities. Beginning November 4th, Artza - a quarterly subscription box from Israel that delivers a mix of artisanal food, hand-crafted gifts, and rich content specifically geared toward Christians across America - is launching its latest box featuring treasures from and around the town of Bethlehem. Timed to coincide with the Christmas season, the Bethlehem box delivers a taste of Bethlehem that Americans can’t get anywhere else, ranging from hand-carved olive-wood Christmas ornaments from a master craftsman in Bethlehem, to award winning chocolate, toffees, and authentic Israeli recipes, to never-before-seen holiday postcards with photos of the Holy land that were hand-picked from Israel’s largest private photo archive.
“What we try to do with every Artza box is tell a story – a story of the Bible, of the city that we are featuring and most importantly its people,” said Artza co-founder Itai Schimmel. “For our Christmas box, we are so excited to tell the story of Bethlehem and some of the amazing people we’ve partnered with there. We really want to deliver a gift for Christmas that our friends in America won’t find anywhere else – a gift that provides a tangible connection to their faith, the Bible and this very special part of the world.”
Artza was founded after the Coronavirus shut travel to Israel as a way to bring a piece of the Holy Land to the millions of Christians around the world who aren’t able to visit, while supporting small businesses that are struggling during this challenging time. The name Artza, which means “toward the Land” in Hebrew, and is taken from Genesis, seeks out small artisans to tell their story, and the story of the Holy Land past and present, to customers and families across America.
“The Bethlehem Artza box is a perfect Christmas gift for anyone who wants to discover amazing new products from the Holy Land and grow in their faith,” said Schimmel. “This holiday season, our goal is really to take you and your loved ones to the place that’s the center of the Christmas story and deliver an assortment of gifts unique to that place and its people that you and your family can experience and share together – things you you’ll love and that you won’t find anywhere else. All the while, you are supporting local small businesses and the families behind them.”
Order your Artza Box intime for Christmas today.