To my brothers and sisters, the Christians who are rejoicing in welcoming Christmas wherever you are, may peace, happiness and love always attend to our steps.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has wished that peace, happiness, and love will always accompany the Indonesian people in the celebration of Christmas in 2022.

"To my brothers and sisters, the Christians who are rejoicing in welcoming Christmas wherever you are, may peace, happiness and love always attend to our steps," he stated in a post uploaded on his social media account @jokowi on Sunday.

He also included a Christmas celebration-themed picture with a saying of ‘Merry Christmas’ in the post.

Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas attended a Christmas Eve celebration with the Christians at the Santo Yoseph Church in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province on Saturday (December 24, 2022) evening.

The minister said that he could feel the peace and joy radiating from the Christmas Eve celebration carried out by the Christian community in the city.

Furthermore, he emphasized that there are no barriers in solidarity, tolerance, and humanity, thus mutual inter-religious respect must be implemented by all religious people.

"Continue to maintain peace and joy in celebrating Christmas, it may be simple, but is still full of meaning," the minister remarked in his speech to the event.

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He also appealed to all Christian communities in NTT to maintain security in the province.

"I invite all Catholics and Christians to foster peaceful situation among religious people in this country and believe in their religion properly. All religions certainly teach good things," he added.

The theme for 2022 Christmas celebrations in Indonesia is “Their Return to Their Country by Another Way," means that diversity is a gift from God that one must be grateful for, cared, and bolstered continually.

The Indonesian National Police ensured that the 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year celebrations would run safely and smoothly, in collaboration with the military, local governments, regional community organizations, and local youth organizations.

The head of the audit and inspection sub-directorate of the Safety and Security Directorate of the National Police's Traffic Department, Senior Commissioner Aries Syahbudin, said that his party would deploy some 100 thousand personnel across the country to secure the year-end holiday season.

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Translator: Indra Pribadi, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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