Iraq's Christians celebrate holiday for first time

Iraq’s Christians were today quietly celebrating Christmas with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time.

In his homily today, Chaldean Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly praised the establishment of Christmas as an official holiday as a step towards easing tensions.

“I thank the government for giving chances to all to serve each other for the general benefit, and I thank it too for making this day an official holiday where we pray to God to make us trust each other as brothers,” he said at the Christmas Mass in a Baghdad monastery.

A senior Shiite cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, attended the Mass flanked by bodyguards in a gesture of cooperation with Christians.

Christians are a scant minority in the overwhelmingly Muslim country.