(RNS) — Christmas celebrates God’s great surprise, but we need to see it through children’s eyes.

(RNS) — These famous few lines suggest a kind of compassionate solidarity, a sense of deep connection when others die, or might die. But Donne’s real point is not just compassion for others, even during a plague, but the necessity of attention to the self.

(RNS) — Had Isaiah wanted to say ‘virgin’ or predict a miraculous birth, he would have used different Hebrew words, say biblical scholars Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — ‘Christmas reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort,’ Pope Francis said at the Vatican’s traditional lighting ceremony, Friday (Dec. 11).

(RNS) — Many American Jews have previously shied from overtly public menorah displays out of a sense of vulnerability, if not an outright fear of persecution. Not this year.

(RNS) — With kids and the internet involved, virtual pageants, it turns out, are just as delightfully unpredictable as more traditional performances at churches.

(RNS) — Astronomers have floated the idea that a similar conjunction of planets could be a scientific explanation for the star of Bethlehem in the Christmas story.

(RNS) — A holiday tradition since the 1930s, Singing Christmas Trees, like other large-scale Christmas events, have been canceled by COVID-19.

(RNS) — It’s an idea whose time has come as the pandemic stretches into the Christmas season.

(RNS) — Since 1979, when Jimmy Carter helped light the National Menorah, every president has recognized Hanukkah with a special ceremony.

(RNS) — Sikhs around the world celebrate the birth anniversary of their founder-prophet, Guru Nanak, every autumn.

(RNS) — Advent comes with this countervailing message: Expect God to show up in unexpected places, like a subway car, a Zoom call, or a stable.