On Monday, people celebrated Christmas around the world by donning Santa hats on beaches, ski slopes, and streets. Pope Francis also made a call for an end to the battles in Gaza and Ukraine, which have this year clouded one of the most popular holidays in the world.
Surfers from Australia to Florida, bikers in the smog-filled streets of New Delhi, and daring individuals swimming in the frigid waters of the Channel for a holiday dip close to Britain’s Dover all wore red and white Santa outfits.
Pope Francis demanded an end “to war, to every war, to the very mindset of war, an aimless voyage, a defeat without victors, an inexcusable folly” during his yearly Christmas Day “Urbi and Orbi” liturgy at the Vatican.
May peace “come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples”, he said.
“I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage. I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims, and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid”, he said.
“I implore peace for Ukraine. Let us renew our spiritual and human closeness to its embattled people”, he said, also calling for the resolution of conflicts simmering in the Middle East, Africa and the Caucasus.
In Bethlehem, the historic city in the occupied West Bank where Christians believe Jesus Christ was laid in a manger after his birth more than 2,000 years ago, the Gaza war made for a somber Christmas.
The town settled for a few festive lights instead of the enormous Christmas tree, marching bands, and spectacular nativity scene that usually draw tourists.
A massive Palestinian flag with the slogan “The bells of Bethlehem ring for a ceasefire in Gaza” was unfurled in the middle of the town.
“A lot of people are dying for this land,” said Nicole Najjar, an 18-year-old student.
“It’s really hard to celebrate while our people are dying.”
Inside Gaza, the horrid conditions were driving “rising desperation due to acute hunger,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
The Gaza war started after a Hamas attack on October 7 left around 1,140 people dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on the latest official Israeli figures.
The Palestinian militants also abducted around 250 people, 129 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza.
Israel retaliated with a sustained bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, that has killed more than 20,400 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
New Christmas Day
After being invaded by Russia almost two years ago, Ukraine is celebrating Christmas on December 25 for the first time this year, abandoning the custom of January 7, which is observed in Russia, for the Orthodox day.
We firmly think that Christmas should be celebrated with everyone on the planet, not just in Moscow. That’s the new message, in my opinion,” grinned Olena, a parishioner in Odesa whose son works as a front-line medic.
The date shift, which abandons the Julian calendar that the Orthodox Church supports, is one of many actions taken since the invasion to eradicate reminders of the Russian and Soviet empires.
The Ukrainian military said that it had shot down 28 of the 31 drones that Russia launched on Christmas day at its neighbour, with no casualties reported.
Surfing Santas
In nations spared from war, joyous celebrants wore red and white Santa hats and opened gifts to spread holiday cheer.
Both locals and visitors to Sydney, Australia, went to the beach to take in the summertime heat of the Southern Hemisphere.
Thousands of people flocked to Cocoa Beach in Florida for the yearly “Surfing Santas” event, which raises money for the local surf museum and a charity that assists cancer patients with their travel expenses.
According to prison officials, the president of Sri Lanka gave amnesty to over 1,000 prisoners nationwide on Christmas Eve.
Prayers in Turkey
In southern Turkey, much of which was devastated by an earthquake in February, faithful prayed for new beginnings.
“It’s important for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus. but it’s a very sad Christmas,” said Vehbi Tadrasgil, a 55-year-old who lost his wife and two of his three children in the quake that killed at least 50,000 people in Turkey and more than 5,000 in neighbouring Syria.
“I hope that their souls are here, I am certain that our prayers rise to them,” he said in front of the ruins of a church at Antakya.
Twenty kilometres (12 miles) down the coast in Samandag, a generator powered the lights on a tree in front of the Saint-Ilyas church, which survived.
“After the earthquake, our community — 400 families — was annihilated. With this Christmas, we want to wish everyone rebirth, love, joy and peace. We must move forward, rebuild a new life,” said Father Yumurta.
“They say that with the birth of the child Jesus, a new life begins, a new beginning. For us too, here, it will be a new beginning,” he said.