Christmas in Baghdad

baghdad christmas

In a first ever public display, Baghdad residents are celebrating Christmas:

From a distance, it looks like an apparition: a huge multi-colored hot-air balloon floating in the Baghdad sky, bearing a large poster of Jesus Christ. Below it, an Iraqi flag.

Welcome to the first-ever public Christmas celebration in Baghdad, held Saturday and sponsored by the Iraqi Interior Ministry. Once thought to be infiltrated by death squads, the Ministry now is trying to root out sectarian violence

The story of an Iraqi priest crystallizes the importance of this celebration: Continue reading Christmas in Baghdad