After two Christmas seasons in which the political reality had overtaken holiday cheer, people seemed primed to finally feel some merriment in Bethlehem.

They "pray, pray" that family members can get out of northern Iraq before a major Islamic State attack.

The ancient Christian population of Bethlehem is fast disappearing. One of the few remaining Palestinian Christians explains what it feels like to celebrate Christmas there today.

A book is sometimes the most difficult gift to offer, but often it is the most rich.

December brings concerns about the commercialism of Christmas, along with invocations to return to the day’s “true meaning.”

If we fail to consider the difficulties faced by the Holy Family, we can be lulled into thinking that the first Christmas was a familiar, even cozy, affair.