Stores Open on Christmas Day 2009, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas today Comments for MySpace latest updates :- Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas today. The top Roman Catholic cleric in Bethlehem, West Bank delivered Christmas wishes for peace in the Middle East — and prayed for the day when Palestinians would no longer be confined by Israeli barriers. There was moreChristmas gloom than cheer elsewhere, too.
Thousands of families in the central Philippines were spending Christmas Eve in shelters while the lava-spilling Mayon volcano threatened their homes.
Sectarian violence was weighing heavily on Iraqi Christians as well. Christmas is bumping into the majority Shiite Muslims’ most mournful ceremony this year, forcing Iraqi Christians to keep their celebrations under tighter wraps than usual.
On Thursday, explosions killed at least 26 people across Iraq, most of them Shiite pilgrims taking part in a holy mourning ceremony, raising fears of further sectarian attacks at the approach of the Ashoura holiday.
Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal began Christmas celebrations with an annual procession from Jerusalem to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Jesus’ traditional birthplace. “The wish that we most want, we most hope for, is not coming. We want peace,” Twal said after he passed into Bethlehem. Twal and his convoy of dozens of vehicles entered the Palestinian territory through a massive steel gate in Israel’s heavily guardedWest Bank separation barrier, escorted by Israeli soldiers and police in jeeps. The barrier and the heavy Israeli security presence was a potent reminder of the frictions and hostilities that have thwarted peace efforts. “We want freedom of movement, we don’t want walls,” Twal said after passing through the barrier. “We don’t want separation fences. We hope that things will become more normal for us.”
Israel began building the barrier of towering concrete slabs and electronic fences after a wave of deadly Palestinian suicide bombings. But Palestinians see it as a land grab because its route juts into the West Bank, putting that land on the “Israeli” side of the enclosure. Thousands of people were milling around Manger Square: tourists from all over the world, locals hawking food and trinkets and Palestinian scouts in kilts and playing bagpipes, as they do eachChristmas . Hanna Pioli, 23, and her sister Katherine, 25, were spending the holiday in Bethlehem, far from their hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah. The sisters miss celebrating a “whiteChristmas ” at home, Katherine Pioli said, but think Bethlehem is nonetheless the best place for Christians to spend the holiday. “It’s interesting to observe people having a beautiful religious moment,” Hanna Pioli said.
Balloons of all colors gave an added note of cheer to the festivities.
Later Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI was to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica two hours earlier than usual to spare the 82-year-old pontiff from such a late night. Benedict was to initiate the evening’s services at nightfall, by lighting a candle in a window after Vatican officials unveil the life-sized Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. OnChristmas Day, Benedict will deliver a traditional speech from the basilica’s balcony. On Sunday, he plans to share lunch with the homeless at a soup kitchen near the Vatican.
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that, in Christianity, commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on December 25, but this date is not known to be Jesus’ actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, a historical Roman festival, or the date of the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice.Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.
Although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and some of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; includingChristmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, Father Christmas (known as Santa Claus in some areas, including North America, Australia and Ireland) is a popular mythological figure in many countries, associated with the bringing of gifts for children.
Merry Christmas
