Millions of Christians celebrate Christmas this year amid the shadow of wars
Millions of Christians are celebrating Christmas, a holiday overshadowed this year by the wars in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, and numerous other parts of the world.
On 24 December 2024, Christmas Eve, Pope Francis inaugurated the 2025 Jubilee of the Roman Catholic Church, a significant global pilgrimage expected to draw more than 30 million believers from around the world to Rome.
He then presided over the midnight service, during which he urged the faithful to reflect on “the wars, the children being shot, the bombs in schools or hospitals,” referring to the Israeli raids on Gaza. He had condemned the “brutality” of these actions earlier in the week, prompting a protest from Israeli diplomacy.
In France, Christmas services are being held today at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, following the traditional midnight service held last night. These are the first Christmas services held at Notre Dame Cathedral since the devastating fire on April 15, 2019.
“I’m very happy to be back here; it’s magical,” said Daniel James, a 46-year-old American flight attendant who traveled from Seattle to attend the midnight Mass at Notre Dame.
Ukraine, celebrating Christmas on December 25 for the second consecutive year—aligning with the revised orthodox calendar tradition rather than January 7, as per the old calendar followed by the Russian Orthodox Church—woke up this morning to a barrage of missiles.
An air alert was sounded across the country at dawn as Russian missiles targeted Kharkiv, a major city in eastern Ukraine, and several of the nation’s energy infrastructure facilities.
The war in Gaza once again cast a shadow over Christmas night in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity, where a few hundred believers gathered in and around the Church of the Nativity.
“Bethlehem is finding it hard to enjoy Christmas this year,” said Anton Salman, the mayor of the city in the occupied West Bank, located only about 10 kilometers from Jerusalem, on the other side of the wall erected by Israel.
A large Christmas fir tree has been placed in the adjacent Manger Square, but, as in the previous year, local authorities have decided against holding large celebrations.
On Christmas eve, the city came to life with a parade of scouts, some carrying banners with messages such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza now” and “Our children want to play and laugh.”
“I want to thank my beloved brothers and sisters in Gaza, whom I just visited,” remarked the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, during his speech in English. He had just returned from Gaza to officiate the midnight service. “They are a true glimmer of hope amid the devastation and destruction that surrounds them,” he emphasized.
“For the second year, Christmas is filled with sadness for you as well,” he continued. “But next year, Christmas in Bethlehem will be filled with fir trees, life, and pilgrims,” he concluded.
“What we are going through is very difficult, and we cannot completely ignore it,” said Hisham Makhul, a Jerusalem resident visiting Bethlehem, adding that it provided a temporary “escape” from the events.
In the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Christians gathered at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, located in the northern part of the war-torn Palestinian enclave, for the Christmas service.
“This Christmas smells of death and destruction,” said George Al Sayeh, who had sought refuge for weeks at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios to escape the bombings.
“There is no joy, no festive spirit. We don’t even know if we will survive until next Christmas,” he added.
In a message to Christians around the world yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to combat the “forces of evil.”
“You have stood by us with endurance, steadfastness, and strength as Israel defends our civilization against barbarism,” added Netanyahu, whose country has been engaged in multiple conflicts since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.
In Germany, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in his Christmas message, called for unity and cohesion in the country. He spoke of the “shadow” cast over Christmas by the tragic car attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, in the northeastern part of the country, on Friday night, which left five people dead and over 200 injured.
In Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown on December 8, the new authorities, led by Islamists, sought to reassure Christians in the predominantly Sunni country.
“It was not easy, under the current circumstances, to gather and pray with joy, but thank God, we made it,” Sarah told AFP after attending the service at the Syrian Orthodox Cathedral of St. George in Damascus.
In other parts of the world, Christmas Eve offered moments of relief.
In the USA, the tradition continued of tracking Santa Claus’s journey to deliver gifts to children and adults around the world in real-time through a dedicated website.
Blending politics with the Christmas spirit, NORAD Commander Gregory Guyot sought to reassure citizens concerned about the recent drone overflights that have caused havoc along the U.S. East Coast.
“I don’t expect any difficulties with these drones for Santa this year,” he told Fox News.
Source: orthodoxtimes.com
