Christmas celebrated with fervour in Pakistan
Pakistan Times Federal Bureau Report

ISLAMABAD: The Christian community world over celebrated the birthday of the Jesus Christ with the usual fervour Saturday.

In Pakistan, too, the Christians tastefully decorated Churches and homes with glittering Christmas trees and stars. Midnight prayers were offered in churches in all major cities and towns.

In the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, large congregations were held at the St. Joseph’s Cathedral and Christ Church.

Midnight special services

In Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyederabad, Sialkot and other towns large number of the Christians attended the midnight special services held in churches where the priests in their sermons highlighted the importance of the day.

Special prayers for integrity, solidarity and prosperity of the country, peace and tranquillity in the world were also offered.

Pakistan Television, Radio Pakistan and Newspapers plus E-Newspapers highlighted Christmas spirit and celebrations.

Bethlehem

In, Bethlehem, Palestine Muslims and Christians attended a mass together hoping for a new dawn after four years of violence.

“Our situation is a situation of conflict and of violence, of insecurity and of fear, of military occupation, of the separation barrier, of prison towns, of humiliations,” Michel Sabbah, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, told a congregation of at least 3,000 Muslims and Christians.

They included PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas, who is tipped to replace late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. It was the first time in four years that the Palestinian leadership had been allowed by Israel to attend midnight mass.

“We pray that all walls fall down, those around Bethlehem and the other Palestinian towns, and the walls of hatred in our hearts,” Sabbah said.

Vatican City

In Vatican City, Pope John Paul expressed his hopes that peace-building efforts will bring the world a more tranquil future.

The pontiff greeted thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims who turned out at noon in St. Peter’s Square to hear his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and to the world”) message in dozens of languages.

Earlier in the evening, the pope lit a candle for peace in his window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.All day, pilgrims filled the square, admiring the 32-meter (105-foot) Christmas tree brought down from the Italian Alps.●