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You may have wondered, and rightly so, why the ox and the ass appear so often beside the Christ child in various images of the Nativity.

From seeds for farmers to seed money for businesses, Chalice Canada has been evolving its charity work to match the fast-changing needs in developing countries.

TorontoöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Gardiner Museum has put up 12 artist-decorated Christmas trees again this year, but this time itöÏÓãÊÓƵapp about more than pretty baubles hanging from artificial trees.

Two simple words are all the payment Carla Martella needs for helping the Good Shepherd Ministries provide a holiday meal to the homeless and those in need.

For five decades, Fr. Thomas Raby held a very special place for readers of The Catholic Register. His weekly column — The Little World of Fr. Raby — was a favourite, with stories and messages that continue to resonate, even three years after his death at age 95. At right, we present one of his Christmas poems, which were a tradition for almost 40 years. As well, here is one of his Christmas columns, published Dec. 24, 1960, when the the Cold War was escalating.

St. MichaelöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Cathedral looks like an old church. But sit down in a confessional and take a deep breath.

God-willing, this will be my 102nd Christmas on Earth (if you count the one when I was an unborn child) and my 77th Christmas as a priest.

The holiday season can be an isolating time for those who are living on the breadline. When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, it is comforting to know that the Church of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields can be a place of refuge and community.

There are a million Catholic complaints about Christmas.

One of the joys of Christmas at The Catholic Register is judging what has become perhaps our most popular annual feature — the childrenöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Christmas drawing contest.