Catholics and other Christians around the world set up Nativity scenes, decorated enormous Christmas trees, lit candles, and played hymns to celebrate one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar: The birth of Christ. Here is a sample of some of the holy day’s manifestations.
FILE – In this June 9, 2020, file photo ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Democrats are treading carefully on religious faith as they prepare to question President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)
In this photo taken Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, Notre Dame cathedral choir’s director Henri Chalet directs the Notre Dame choir during a rehearsal at the Saint Sulpice church in Paris. Notre Dame Cathedral kept holding services during two world wars as a beacon of hope amid bloodshed and fear. It took a fire in peacetime to finally stop Notre Dame from celebrating Christmas Mass for the first time in more than two centuries. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Pakistani Christians attend an early morning Easter service at St. Patrick church in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, April 16, 2017. Christians across the world are celebrating Easter, commemorating the day followers believe Jesus was resurrected in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A Russian soldier stands guard at a polling station in Ukraine’s Donetsk region Sept. 23, 2022. At the end of voting Sept. 27, Russia is expected to announce that the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson voted to join Russia. (Credit: CNS photo/Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.)