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The Belgian troopship SS Léopoldville had just slipped beneath the English Channel after being hit by a torpedo. Gerald Howard went down with the ship. The 23-year-old rifleman nearly drowned under the frigid water like hundreds of his comrades. He fought his way back to the surface. "I was on the ship until it went down," Howard recalled decades later. "It pulled me down, and when I came up I saw a life raft. They said 'You can't get on.' I said, 'Like hell I can't.'" Howard woke up around midnight in a hospital in Cherbourg, France. He was among...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #33 of 33 YOUNG JESUS TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE L U K E CHAPTER 2 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find...

On Christmas Eve, Hindu hardline groups affiliated with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced a shutdown in the central Indian city of Raipur. The protest was called over allegations of “forced” religious conversions by Christians, a claim frequently levelled against the Christian community despite scant evidence. That same day, groups of men armed with wooden sticks stormed a shopping mall in Raipur, vandalising Christmas decorations and disrupting celebrations. Police filed a case against 30 to 40 unidentified attackers, but arrested only six. They were released on bail within days and, upon their release, were greeted with...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #32 of 33 YOUNG JESUS TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE L U K E CHAPTER 2 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #31 of 33 JESUS GROWS INTO ADULTHOOD M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #30 of 33 KING HEROD SLAUGHTERS THE INNOCENTS M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #29 of 33 THE HOLY FAMILY FLEES TO EGYPT H O S E A CHAPTER 11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me.” M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 When [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #28 of 33 THE HOLY FAMILY FLEES TO EGYPT H O S E A CHAPTER 11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me.” M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 When [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #27 of 33 ADORATION OF THE MAGI M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #26 of 33 ADORATION OF THE MAGI M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #25 of 33 ADORATION OF THE MAGI M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming...

Orthodox Christmas will be observed on January 7, by millions of Christians across Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. While much of the world celebrates Christmas on December 25, Orthodox Christians follow a different liturgical calendar, making their celebration fall 13 days later... The difference in dates arises from the use of two calendars. Most Western Christian churches follow the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to correct inaccuracies in the older Julian calendar. This reform fixed the date of Christmas as December 25. However, many Orthodox churches chose not to adopt the Gregorian calendar for...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #24 of 33 MAGI FOLLOWING THE PROPHECY AND THE STAR M A T T H E W CHAPTER 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 1 GISLEBERTUS "An angel lightly touching the hand of a Magus, who is slowly waking up. With the other finger, the angel points to the star." 2 JAMES TISSOT...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #23 of 33 BABY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE, WITH SIMEON & ANNA L U K E CHAPTER 2 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #22 of 33 BABY JESUS PRESENTED IN THE TEMPLE L U K E CHAPTER 2 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem TO PRESENT HIM TO THE LORD (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), AND TO OFFER A SACRIFICE in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 1 ELIZABETH WANG "The Presentation in the Temple"...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #21 of 33 OUCH!!! JESUS IS CIRCUMCISED G E N E S I S CHAPTER 17 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND YOU. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #20 of 33 SHEPHERDS, FIRST TO SEE THE SAVIOR L U K E CHAPTER 2 She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #19 of 33 SHEPHERDS, FIRST TO SEE THE SAVIOR L U K E CHAPTER 2 She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #18 of 33 SHEPHERDS, FIRST TO HEAR OF THE SAVIOR L U K E CHAPTER 2 She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #16 of 33 SHEPHERDS, FIRST TO HEAR OF THE SAVIOR L U K E CHAPTER 2 She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you...