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Worshippers celebrate Christmas in Jakarta churches
From Christmas Mass at Jakarta Cathedral and millions of Jakartans taking off by road and by air, the 2024 year-end holiday season has truly kicked off.
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Worshippers attend Christmas Mass at Jakarta Cathedral on Dec. 25, 2024. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
P
eople across the country flocked to churches to celebrate Christmas, while others took the year-end holiday season as an opportunity to travel to popular tourist destinations.
Thousands attended a Christmas Mass on Wednesday morning led by Jakarta Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo at Jakarta Cathedral, kompas.com reported, which held two services on Christmas Eve and had three scheduled for Christmas Day.
At the 8:30 a.m. Christmas Day service, archbishop Ignatius asked worshippers to uphold humanity, justice and peace as a form of obedience to God, kompas.id reported.
The cathedral’s management coordinated with Istiqlal Mosque, located on the opposite side of Jl. Katedral, to arrange additional parking spots to accommodate thousands of worshippers. The mosque is connected to the cathedral via the recently opened Terowongan Silaturahmi (Kinship Tunnel), built as a symbol of interfaith harmony.
On Tuesday, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Pratikno and Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar visited several churches in Jakarta to oversee preparations for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.
They were joined by Coordinating Politics and Security Minister Budi Gunawan, National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto, who led a safety and security inspection at the houses of worship.
Christmas festivities were also observed outside Jakarta, such as at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Batang, Central Java, which had opted to erect an environmentally friendly Christmas tree from 300 used water bottles.
