In a troubled world, Christians strive to put aside earthly worries on Christmas Eve
Frankfurt, Germany AP Christians around the world were striving on Christmas Eve to put aside the worries and fears of an unsettled, war-torn world as they prepared to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Believers in Syria gathered Sunday in a country still suffering from the aftermath of a long civil war and suffocating economic blockade. […]
On Christmas eve, Pope Francis laments “futile” war in Holy Land
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that Jesus’ message of peace was being drowned out by the “futile logic of war” in the very land where he was born, as the pontiff led the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas. Francis, celebrating the 11th Christmas of his pontificate, presided at a solemn Christmas Eve Mass […]
Japan’s recent heavy snow has caused 13 deaths, many injuries
Tokyo, Japan Reuters Recent heavy snow in Japan’s north and elsewhere have killed 13 people injured more than 80 and left more than 10,000 households without power, the authorities said on Saturday. Heavy snowfall continued to blanket areas across northern, eastern and western Japan on Saturdaym 24th December, paralysing traffic and causing blackouts. PICTURE: Reuters […]
Bethlehem rebounds from pandemic, lifting Christmas spirits
Updated 3:30pm (AEST) Bethlehem, West Bank AP The Biblical town of Bethlehem marked a merry Christmas on Saturday, with thousands of visitors descending upon the traditional birthplace of Jesus as it rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism is the economic lifeblood of this town in the occupied West Bank, and for the past two years, […]
Remember the war weary and the poor, Pope urges on Christmas Eve
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Saturday led the world’s Catholics into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts that the level of greed and hunger for power was such that some wanted to “consume even their neighbours”. Francis, celebrating the 10th Christmas of his pontificate, presided at a […]
COVID puts a damper on Christmas Eve again around the world
AP From Bethlehem and Frankfurt to London and Boston, the surging coronavirus put a damper on Christmas Eve for a second year, forcing churches to cancel or scale back services and disrupting travel plans and family gatherings. Drummers and bagpipers marched through Bethlehem – the town where Christians believe Jesus was born – to smaller […]
Christmas Eve concert held in Paris’ fire-wrecked Notre Dame
Paris, FranceAP Wearing hard hats and protective suits, members of the choir of Notre Dame Cathedral sang inside the medieval Paris landmark for the first time since last year’s devastating fire for a special Christmas Eve concert. Accompanied by an acclaimed cellist and a rented organ, the singers performed beneath the cathedral’s stained-glass windows amid […]
Updated: Coronavirus dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem and elsewhere
Updated: 4.20pm (AEDT)Bethlehem, West Bank AP Bethlehem on Thursday ushered in Christmas Eve with a stream of joyous marching bands and the triumphant arrival of the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, but few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened celebrations in the traditional birthplace […]
Don’t let church failings distance you from God, Pope says on Christmas Eve
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis led the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas on Tuesday, urging them not to let the church’s failings lead them away from accepting God’s love. Francis celebrated a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s Basilica for thousands of people as hundreds of others watched on large screens outside. Pope […]
POSTCARDS: MOSUL CHRISTMAS MASS HAILED A “VICTORY OVER IS” AS SUNNI YOUTH INSTALL GIANT CHRISTMAS TREE
World Watch Monitor reports on how Iraqi Christians celebrated Christmas in Mosul following its liberation from the so-called Islamic State…