Jews spitting on the ground beside Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land sparks outrage
A video that shows ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on the ground beside a procession of foreign Christian worshipers carrying a wooden cross in the holy city of Jerusalem has ignited intense outrage and a flurry of condemnation in the Holy Land.
Coronavirus dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem and elsewhere
Few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations. The Philippines prohibited mass gatherings and barred extended families from holding traditional Christmas Eve dinners. On Christmas Eve in Italy, church bells rang earlier than usual. In Athens, Christmas Eve was eerily silent. The schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas day included Masses in English and Spanish, and a bilingual jazz vespers service.
'Hurting for hope,' South Dakota rural churches mark Advent
โ The Nativity stable at Canton Lutheran Church will be silent this year, breaking from a community tradition of gathering for a live Christmas performance. Instead, churches in this rural corner of South Dakota are grappling with how to approach an Advent filled with quiet mourning after the coronavirus tore through the region. South Dakota and North Dakota, states largely spared from the worst of the pandemic during the spring and summer, have seen a frightening pace of death since October. โAdvent is the season when we look forward, and long and wait for that new life to come upon us,โ the Rev. How do you do that when you canโt give them a hug?โ said Thies, the pastor at Canton Lutheran.
Christmas tree-lighting in Bethlehem a muted, virtual event
Christmas tree is lit outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)BETHLEHEM โ Only a few dozen people attended the lighting of the Christmas tree in the biblical city of Bethlehem on Saturday night, as coronavirus restrictions scaled back the annual event that is normally attended by thousands. Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman said Christmas is being observed this year in ways like no time before. โWe resorted to modern technology and to the virtual world to celebrate the lighting of the Christmas tree, wishing hope and optimism would flutter upon Palestine and the world,โ Salman said. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists typically visit Bethlehem, fill hotels and dine at restaurants during the Christmas season, bringing the area a much-needed injection of cash.