\n<\/p>\n
VATICAN CITY (AP) \u2014 Pilgrims lined up early Wednesday to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, as Christmas marked the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration<\/a> that is expected to bring some 32 million Catholic faithful<\/a> to Rome.<\/p>\n Traversing the Holy Door is one way that the faithful can obtain indulgences, or forgiveness for sins during a Jubilee, a once-every-quarter-century tradition that dates from 1300. On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis knocked on the door and was the first to walk through it, inaugurating the 2025 Jubilee that he dedicated to hope.<\/p>\n Pilgrims submitted to security controls before entering the Holy Door, amid new security fears following a deadly Christmas market attack in Germany.<\/a> Many paused to touch the door as they passed and made the sign of the cross upon entering the basilica dedicated to St. Peter, founder of the Roman Catholic Church.<\/p>\n See for yourself \u2014 The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n At noon, Francis will deliver the \u201cUrbi et Orbi\u201d \u2014 \u201cTo the City and the World\u201d address, which serves as a summary of the woes facing the world this year.<\/p>\n A Chrismukkah miracle as Hanukkah and Christmas coincide<\/p>\n Hanukkah, Judaism\u2019s eight-day Festival of Lights<\/a>, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900.<\/a><\/p>\n The calendar confluence has inspired some religious leaders to host interfaith gatherings, such as a a Chicanukah party hosted last week by several Jewish organizations in Houston, Texas, bringing together members of the city\u2019s Latino and Jewish communities for latkes, the traditional potato pancake eaten on Hanukkah, topped with guacamole and salsa.<\/p>\n While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it\u2019s taking place this year as wars rage in the Middle East and fears rise over widespread incidents of antisemitism<\/a>. The holidays overlap infrequently because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and is not in sync with the Gregorian calendar, which sets Christmas on Dec. 25. The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005.<\/p>\n German celebrations muted by market attack<\/p>\n German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday that left five people dead, including a 9-year-old boy, and 200 people injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack, saying that \u201cthere is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg.\u201d He urged Germans to \u201cstand together\u201d and that \u201chate and violence must not have the last word.\u201d<\/p>\n A 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had practiced medicine in Germany since 2006 was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. The suspect\u2019s X account describes him as a former Muslim and is filled with anti-Islamic themes. He criticized authorities for failing to combat \u201cthe Islamification of Germany\u201d and voiced support for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.<\/p>\n ____<\/p>\n Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTrusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox<\/h4>\n