World Tour: Christmas around the world

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next, WORLD’s Global Desk Chief, Jenny Lind Schmitt with a special Christmas edition of World Tour.

SOUND: [CHEERING]

JENNY LIND SCHMITT: This week on World Tour we start where it all began, in Bethlehem! A decorated Christmas tree lights up the square in front of the Church of the Nativity for the first time since 2022. The past two years, the city held no public Christmas celebrations. Only church services marked the holiday. Local residents welcome the return to a more festive public atmosphere.

RESIDENT: It’s been a challenging two years, and it’s still challenging until now, but hopefully with this festival it will be better next year.

Bethlehem has been closed to tourists for much of the last two years. That has been hard for the local economy which relies heavily on foreign visitors.

MAHER CANAWATI : This year we have reignited the spirit of Christmas, and we are sending messages of hope for the locals so they can continue.

SOUND: [SANTA BELL RINGING]

Next, we go to Japan, where the country’s only “official” Santa is greeting children and hearing their wishes at a shopping center south of Tokyo. Paradise Yamahoto has been playing the role of Santa for local children since 1998. That’s the year he was officially recognized by the Greenland International Santa Claus Association.

YAMAMOTO: [ON BEING SANTA]

Yamamoto says he started playing Santa because he wanted to bring happiness to many people. He continues because he likes giving back to his community. He also says he would like to see a few more Santas in Asia.

SOUND: [REACTION OF MOTHER AND SON]

This mother says that they came because her young son said he wanted to meet Santa. She hopes that by next year, he’ll be ready to give Santa a hug.

SOUND: [PROTESTS]

Now to Venezuela, where human rights activists staged a symbolic Christmas dinner in Caracas. They want to bring attention to the hundreds of political prisoners who will spend the holiday behind bars. Protestors denounced leader Nicolas Maduro’s repressions of his opponents with unwarranted arrests and disappearances.

In the street, protestors set up a long festive table complete with candles, glasses, and cutlery. On each plate they placed a Christmas ornament with the names of their imprisoned loved ones.

PROTESTOR: [MOTIVATION FOR THE PROTEST]

This protestor says that Christmas is a time for gathering, but that for many families, someone will be missing from the table because they are unjustly detained.

Venezuela currently has 893 political prisoners, including 119 women and 4 adolescents. Authorities claim they were part of plots to destabilize the government.

And finally we go to Rome.

MICHAEL BUBLE: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

This advent season, singer Michael Bublé performed for Pope Leo XIV [14th] and others at the 6th annual Concert with the Poor. The Canadian singer, well-known for his renditions of traditional Christmas songs, was the headliner at the event.

BUBLE: May I ask you a favor tonight? Tonight I would love if I didn’t have to sing alone. I would love if you would join me.

Video cameras caught Pope Leo singing along with Bublé and the crowd. The late Pope Francis started the tradition of the Concert with the Poor in 2015. Admission is free for 3,000 needy people of Rome, and attendees also receive a hot meal and other personal necessities.

Bublé told reporters the setlist for the concert included several requests from Pope Leo.

BUBLE: Silent Night, Holy Night….

That’s this week’s WORLD Tour. Wishing you a Merry Christmas from Porrentruy, Switzerland, I’m Jenny Lind Schmitt.

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