Pilgrims lined up early Wednesday morning at the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica as Christmas marks the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee celebrations, which are expected to draw some 32 million Catholics to Rome. I passed through a large sacred door.
Passing through the Holy Door is one of the ways believers can obtain indulgences, or forgiveness of sins, during the Jubilee Year, a quarterly tradition dating back to 1300.
On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis knocked on the door and was the first to enter, opening the 2025 Jubilee Year dedicated to hope.
Pilgrims obeyed security regulations before entering the holy doors, amid fresh security concerns following a deadly Christmas market attack in Germany.
As they entered the cathedral dedicated to St. Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church, many people stopped to touch the door and make the sign of the cross as they passed.
At noon, Francis is scheduled to deliver his “Urbi e Orbi,” or “To the Cities and the World,” address, which will sum up the hardships facing the world this year.
The miracle of Chrismukah, where Hanukkah and Christmas overlap
Hanukkah, the Jewish eight-day festival of lights, has only been held four times since 1900, but this year it begins on Christmas Day.
The calendar confluence has prompted some religious leaders to host interfaith gatherings, such as the Chikanuka party hosted by several Jewish groups in Houston, Texas, last week. Members of the city's Latino and Jewish communities gathered for latkes, the traditional potato pancakes eaten on Hanukkah. , topped with guacamole and salsa.
Hanukkah is meant to be a joyous and celebratory holiday, but the rabbis note that this year it will be held amidst escalating wars in the Middle East and growing fears of widespread incidents of anti-Semitism.
The Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and is not synchronized with the Gregorian calendar, which sets Christmas on December 25, so holidays rarely overlap.
The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005.
Market attack dampens German celebrations
Germany's festive mood turned dark on Friday when a car attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg left five people dead, including a nine-year-old boy, and 200 injured.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier referred to the attack in a rewritten speech he recorded on Christmas Day, saying: “There is sadness, pain, fear and incomprehension at what happened in Magdeburg.”
He called on Germans to “stand together” and said: “We must not let hatred and violence have the final say.”
A 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has been practicing medicine in Germany since 2006 has been arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and assault.
Suspect X's statement says he is a former Muslim and is full of anti-Islamic themes.
He criticized the authorities for failing to fight the “Islamization of Germany” and expressed support for the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
