The past eight months of the pandemic have given many people the opportunity to try new hobbies and catch up on reading or binging on television. For Marlys Halbeisen, a 78-year-old grandmother from Wheat Ridge, Colo., she spent the time writing Christmas cards for U.S. military members overseas – 40,000 cards to be exact.
The year, the Christmas tradition of the Peace Light of Bethlehem continues, despite COVID-19 restrictions and border and church closures.
The Tablet’s annual Bright Christmas Campaign has officially launched early this year due to the ongoing pandemic.
U.S. Catholic parishes, schools and groups have been collecting items since the fall to share Christmas joy in small packages for children in poverty-stricken nations and will deliver the gift boxes to local drop-off centers during Box of Joy Week, Nov. 7-15.
It might be “unbelievable” to people in other countries, but a Catholic chapel inside a shopping mall and thousands of people attending Mass there have become a new norm among Filipinos.
For Coptic Christians in Egypt, Christmas is celebrated somewhat differently than it is in most of the world, although some traditions are the same.
Parishes throughout the New York City area are providing an opportunity for Catholics to go to confession on Dec. 16 on what is called “Reconciliation Monday.”
Months before the calendars read “December” and pink and purple Advent candles were placed on altars in preparation for Jesus’ birth, one man was tasked with configuring how many tiny red fluorescent lights would complement hundreds of yards of red ribbon on a Christmas tree to bring awareness to the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. Enter the world of Mark Steele.
The difference that The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Fund makes is evident at Providence House, a shelter in Bedford-Stuyvesant for homeless women and children and for women on parole from prison.
Called the Peace Light, the candle traveled thousands of miles from Bethlehem via Austria for an arrival ceremony at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel in Terminal 4.
