Once again the Christmas Eve procession with baby Jesus will be held this year in many parishes in Malta. They have been suspended last year because of Covid, and were threatened to be cancelled again this year. It is very appropriate that this celebration for children and by children be held this year, because it actually started exactly 100 years ago, in 1921. It was started on the initiative of Father George Preca, the founder of a religious organization that teaches catechism to children and youth, known as MUSEUM. He was canonized in 2007, and his dream spread throughout the world with groups sprouting even in Australia, Africa, Poland, England, Peru, Cuba, Albania and other countries. The children carry a manger with baby Jesus throughout the streets of villages and towns in Malta, accompanied by a small marching band playing Christmas carols, lanterns and also many parents who keep an eye on the children, some of whom are very young, but eager to participate. The procession ends inside the local parish church, where usually a boy or a girl or both deliver a brief sermon, which they have memorized by heart over the past few weeks. The midnight Mass follows, although many parishes are nowadays opting for an earlier Mass at 8 PM.
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