Whether they meet at church to pray and celebrate the birth of Jesus or are with family to discover the magical illuminations, Christians around the world have been celebrating since Tuesday, December 24 and the evening of Christmas Eve, this major event of their year. But still in 2024, many faithful trapped in war zones have seen these once happy moments be overshadowed by conflicts, from Gaza to Ukraine. At 11 a.m., Pope Francis was also due, from the Vatican, to renew his calls for peace in the Middle East and the rest of the world, during his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
On Tuesday, he opened the “Holy Year” 2025 of the Catholic Church, a major international pilgrimage for which more than 30 million faithful from all over the world are expected in Rome. He then presided over Midnight Mass, during which he invited the faithful to think of “wars, machine-gunned children, bombs on schools or hospitals”, an allusion to the Israeli strikes on Gaza which he had denounced this time. week “cruelty”, sparking protests from Israeli diplomacy.
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Bethlehem without joy
In the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity, a few hundred worshipers gathered in and around the Church of the Nativity as Ukraine woke up Wednesday to a new salvo of Russian bombs. In Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown on December 8, the new authorities dominated by Islamists have worked to reassure Christians in a predominantly Sunni country.
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In a more festive atmosphere, the United States, for its part, launched thehe annual tradition of tracking down Santa Claus. For young and old alike, it is possible to follow your great crossing in real time on a dedicated website. Others, like in Japan – a country where Christmas is mostly spent with friends – were able to take photos in front of the fir trees decorated with magical lights. In Paris, Notre-Dame gave its first Christmas mass since its reopening following the devastating fire of April 2019.
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