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The Bible doesn’t mention animals at the birth in Bethlehem. A text called the Gospel of Pseudo Matthew, now not considered Biblical, mentions an ox and an ass. St Francis invoked this in the Italian village of Greccio in 1223, creating the first Nativity tableau of Christ’s birth. He wished to emphasise Christ’s humble origins and importance for all the world, not just humans. “Laudato sie, mi Signore, cum tucte le Tue creature,” he wrote in his Canticle of the Sun: “Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures.” In time, Nativity scenes included other animals, like the sheep of the shepherds and the camels of the Magi. In other parts of the world, local animals also feature, like elephants in India, llamas in Peru and kangaroos in Australia. Oddly, pigs rarely appear in Nativity scenes. An important reason for Christianity’s success was discarding food-related taboos, like the one on pork enforced in Christ’s own Jewish community. Yet, pigs seem out of place. Does an animal raised only to be killed feel inappropriate in a scene devoted to new life?

Jerusalem, a town that is seeing the atrocities of Israel's aerial bombing campaign and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip. Bethlehem fell silent on Monday, with no Christmas tree, no caroling, as the ongoing attack by Israel in West Bank left hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops deserted. Bethlehem, considered the birthplace of Jesus, is now in the middle of a war zone.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Bassam Masoud and Dan Williams

Pope Francis has kicked off global Christmas celebrations with a call for peace, as Israel's war on Hamas and Russia's invasion of Ukraine cast a shadow over one of the world's favourite holidays. Having said earlier in the day that he was thinking of people «who are suffering from war — we are thinking of Palestine, of Israel, of Ukraine», the pope struck a sombre tone during his Christmas Eve mass.

Pope Francis lamented the war in the Holy Land where Palestinian health officials said airstrikes killed at least 78 people on Christmas Eve in one of the Gaza Strip's deadliest nights in Israel's 11-week-old battle with Hamas. Israeli strikes that began hours before midnight persisted into Christmas Day on Monday. Local residents and Palestinian media said Israel stepped up air and ground shelling against al-Bureij in central Gaza. At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Maghazi in central Gaza, health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said, adding that many were women and children. The Israeli army said it was reviewing the report of a Maghazi incident and was committed to minimising harm to civilians.

ruler of Judea when Jesus of Nazareth was born, King Herod attempts to find and kill the baby after hearing that the ‘King of the Jews’ has just been born. Tricked by the Magi, the wise men whom he had sent to determine where the infant was, a raging Herod decreed that all children two and under who live near Bethlehem are to be killed. The Gospel of Matthew contains the famous account of this “slaughter of the innocents” and of Mary, Joseph and Jesus’s flight to Egypt. Interestingly, King Herod’s storyline is not found in any other biblical texts nor in Roman records. So, who was the real King Herod?

BETHLEHEM, Occupied West Bank (Reuters) — Palestinian Christians held a sombre Christmas vigil in Bethlehem on Saturday, with candle-lit hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza instead of the usual festive celebrations at the spot where they believe Jesus Christ was born.

Meghalaya, including Rajya Sabha Member Wanweiroy Kharlukhi, who were stranded in Israel, have successfully crossed over to Egypt and are expected to reach India soon. A senior Meghalaya official, preferring anonymity, informed ET, «They are currently in Egypt and are expected to return to India in the near future.» Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma mentioned on October 7 on social media platfom X, formerly known as Twitter, «27 citizens of Meghalaya who traveled for the Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem are stuck in Bethlehem due to the tension between Israel and Palestine.

Gaza in which Hamas fighters, armed with rockets, broke through Israel's security barrier, and rampaged through nearby communities. The war wherein Israeli forces are battling Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel, entered a second day on Sunday, even as the death toll mounted to over 300.

sneaking into its territory and firing at least 5,000 missiles rockets at it. Prasad, the Indian, said more than 5,000 rockets have been fired on Israel and “we are in deep trouble".