Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.
It was holiday time at Hong Kong's sprawling Harbour City shopping mall, and shoppers posed for selfies next to giant presents wrapped in golden foil, while toddlers jumped into a ball pit filled with.. Reuters - Published
Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan visited Canada House in London on Tuesday to thank the High Commissioner for the hospitality they received during their Christmas holiday. Reuters - Published
While much of the world was celebrating Christmas and the New Year, it was business as usual on board the International Space Station. But it wasn't all work and no play.View on euronews
Credit: euronews (in English) Duration: 02:33Published
Nissan's former chairman and international fugitive Carlos Ghosn told Reuters interviewers on Tuesday that he found it "amazing" to read the theories over how he escaped house arrest in Japan. But..
Towns on the southern end of Vancouver Island on Canada’s west coast are excited over the possibility that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will become semi-permanent residents there. Olivia Chan..
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken of the "unbelievable" welcome they received while in Canada, and joked how their son Archie was mesmerised by the scenery. Meghan and Harry's first official..
Credit: PA - Press Association STUDIO Duration: 00:44Published
Members of the Cabinet arrive at 10 Downing Street ahead of the reopening of Parliament after the Christmas recess.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make a statement regarding the Iran..
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Chief Special Adviser Dominic Cummings arrive at 10 Downing Street.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is holding meetings throughout the day before Parliament resumes..
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is slurring his speech and worried about dying in prison. That's according to a new report from British journalist and former Army officer Vaughan Smith. Gizmodo..
Pope Francis walked through the square in Vatican City to go see the large Nativity scene set up. During his walk, a woman grabbed his hand and yanked him toward her. According to Reuters, the Pope..
The United States would be very disappointed if North Korea tested a long-range or nuclear missile and would take appropriate action as a leading military and economic power, White House national..
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has promised a "Christmas gift" to the US if sanctions aren't lifted. According to CNN, the Trump Administration interprets the statement to mean a weapons test. No..
A divide between young evangelicals and their older leaders over support for President Trump is exacerbating a long-term crisis facing U.S. evangelicalism. Roger Fortuna explains.
In 1994, Susan Smith made headlines for letting her two young sons drown in a car that she let roll into a lake. Now, Smith is serving life without parole at Leath Correctional Institution in..
Police are thanking employees of a McDonald's in northern California after they sprang into action to help a women in danger on Christmas Eve. Yahaira Jacquez has more.
In case you missed it, here's what's trending right now: Selena Gomez spends Christmas signing albums for fans, Evan Rachel Wood blasts Cats in expletive-filled review and Jennifer Aniston shares..
Credit: Cover Video STUDIO Duration: 01:10Published
Meghan Markle's friend Janina Gavankar has accused British tabloid the Daily Mail of Photoshopping a Christmas card. For the card, Gavankar took a sweet snapshot of Markle, her husband Prince Harry and..
Muslim women in the Palestinian Gaza Strip have been hand-crafting gifts for the approaching Orthodox Christmas as part of a project to empower a traditional community. Reuters - Published
Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes.. Reuters - Published
Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes.. Reuters - Published
If your Christmas was as wild as mine, then you too received a pair of slippers and a luggage tag. But the greatest gift of all came from Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce. The Age - Published
A fire that swept through a poor community of the Chilean seaside city of Valparaiso on Christmas Eve has left not only people but hundreds of pets without homes. Reuters - Published
Surrounded by dozens of his descendants, Adrian LeBaron gave thanks to God as he prepared to celebrate Christmas for the first time since suspected Mexican drug cartel hitmen murdered his daughter and.. Reuters - Published
George Michael's sister Melanie Panayiotou died on Christmas Day, the third anniversary of the pop singer's death, her family said on Friday. Reuters - Published
The first Christmas had political implications and heralded a life which taught us to reject tribalism. But has that lesson carried into the modern-day politics of Trump and Morrison? The Age - Published
The death toll from a Christmas typhoon that tore through the central Philippines rose to 28 on Friday, with 12 people missing, the disaster agency said, as authorities moved to restore power and.. Reuters - Published
Police in New Mexico are investigating the Christmas Day shooting deaths of four family members in a suburban Albuquerque home as a triple murder and suicide, authorities said on Thursday. Reuters - Published
More than 245 homes have been destroyed and 700 people left destitute after a forest fire tore through a low-income area of the Chilean seaside city of Valparaiso on Christmas Eve. Reuters - Published
Hundreds of protesters marched through festive Hong Kong shopping malls on Thursday, aiming to disrupt business in the Asian financial hub for a third day over the Christmas holidays, with riot police.. Reuters - Published
A typhoon that struck the central Philippines over Christmas has killed at least 13 people, disaster agency officials said on Thursday. Reuters - Published
Hundreds of anti-government protesters and their supporters gathered outside a tiny restaurant in Hong Kong for an unconventional Christmas dinner, sharing paper plates piled high with food under neon.. Reuters - Published
A woman has been accused of stealing food and drink donations meant for volunteer firefighters in a break-in at a Sydney supermarket on Christmas Day. SBS - Published
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull paid tribute to firefighters and helped serve free meals during Christmas celebrations at Sydney's Wayside Chapel. SBS - Published
Britain's Queen Elizabeth said in her Christmas message on Wednesday that she was impressed by young people's dynamism towards fighting environmental destruction. Reuters - Published
Britain's Prince Andrew skipped the royals' traditional Christmas Day walk to church after what his mother Queen Elizabeth said in her seasonal address had been a "bumpy" year. Reuters - Published
Pope Francis urged the world to let the light of Christmas pierce the "darkness in human hearts" that leads to religious persecution, social injustice, armed conflicts and fear of migrants. Reuters - Published
Hong Kong anti-government protesters marched through several shopping malls chanting pro-democracy slogans on Wednesday, a day after violent clashes with the police left a prime tourist district.. Reuters - Published
South Australian Country Fire Service crews continued to battle the Adelaide Hills bushfire on Christmas Day in an effort to finally bring it under control. SBS - Published
Pope Francis and two other religious leaders sent out an extraordinary Christmas appeal on Wednesday to the leaders of South Sudan to keep their promise to form at least a transitional unity government.. Reuters - Published
More than 1700 firefighters were in the field on Christmas Day, managing bushfire containment lines before conditions are set to deteriorate over the weekend. SBS - Published
Christmas turned to chaos for many holiday observers in the central Philippines as a typhoon with strong winds and heavy rains destroyed homes, cut off power and stranded travelers, disaster officials.. Reuters - Published
Firefighters have had their first chance to conduct a "direct attack on fires" as a result of damp conditions in parts of the state on Christmas Day. The Age - Published
A man with a white beard was being held on $10,000 bond for allegedly robbing a Colorado bank and throwing the stolen cash into the air while shouting, “Merry Christmas” to passersby, police and.. Reuters - Published
Pope Francis led the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas on Tuesday, urging them not to let the Church's failings lead them away from accepting God's love. Reuters - Published
South Australian Country Fire Service crews will continue to battle the Adelaide Hills bushfire on Christmas Day in an effort to finally bring it under control. SBS - Published
Wildlife carers in Australia are ready to work around the clock over Christmas, preparing for more admissions particularly for baby animals stressed by hot weather, bushfires and drought. Reuters - Published
Ousted Bolivian leader Evo Morales told Reuters he plans to return to his home country by next Christmas, after going into exile in neighboring Argentina following a disputed election. Reuters - Published
Hong Kong riot police fired rounds of tear gas at thousands of protesters, many wearing masks and reindeer horns, after scuffles in shopping malls and in a prime tourist district as pro-democracy.. Reuters - Published
Fewer than half of Christians from Gaza who sought Israeli permits to visit holy cities such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem at Christmas have so far had their applications granted, members of the small.. Reuters - Published
Britain's Prince Philip, the 98-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth, was released from a London hospital on Tuesday and joined other members of the royal family for their Christmas celebrations. Reuters - Published
Queen Elizabeth will stress the value of harmony and reconciliation in her Christmas message this year, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday, after a "quite bumpy" year for her own family and for Britain.. Reuters - Published
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is encouraging Australians to look forward to 2020 and praised those who served their communities in a year of natural disasters. SBS - Published
Five people were hospitalized after Christmas shoppers were crushed in a midnight balloon drop of gift vouchers at a Sydney suburban shopping center. Reuters - Published
Several people have been crushed during a stunt at a Westfield shopping centre in western Sydney when people rushed for prize-filled balloons. SBS - Published
Queen Elizabeth will stress the value of harmony and reconciliation in her Christmas message this year, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday, after a year in which the tortuous Brexit process aggravated.. Reuters - Published
Hundreds of children from refugee and asylum seeker families have been treated to an early Christmas at a toy drive in Melbourne’s west. SBS - Published
Several people have been crushed during a stunt at a Westfield shopping centre in western Sydney when people rushed for prize-filled balloons. SBS - Published
While the North American Aerospace Defense Command stays alert for any signs of a North Korea missile launch – what officials in Pyongyang have described as a "Christmas gift" – it is also tracking.. Reuters - Published
Christmas cheer rang out through Bethlehem's Manger Square on Monday as pilgrims and worshippers flocked to the city revered as Jesus's birthplace and locals made final preparations for this year's.. Reuters - Published
Hong Kong is gearing up for demonstrations over the Christmas week with protesters planning to gather in districts across the city, including in prime shopping malls, the latest in more than six months.. Reuters - Published
British supermarket giant Tesco suspended a Chinese supplier of Christmas cards on Sunday after a press report said a customer found a message written inside a card saying it had been packed by foreign.. Reuters - Published
Scorching heat baking Australia eased on Monday bringing relief from extreme bushfires, which destroyed around 180 houses and killed one person over the weekend, allowing firefighters to prepare for.. Reuters - Published
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