The Holy Innocents: The First Martyrs for Christ
After the Magi let it slip that they were looking for the newborn King of the Jews, the tyrant King Herod ordered a massacre of all infant...
Christmas / Martyrs / Saints / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 28, 2024 · Last modified December 23, 2024
After the Magi let it slip that they were looking for the newborn King of the Jews, the tyrant King Herod ordered a massacre of all infant...
Christmas / Christmas Facts / Church / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 25, 2024 · Last modified December 16, 2024
GERMANY The BUZZ: In Germany, Santa Claus visits twice: on December 6 in the form of St Nicholas, who places small gifts in polished shoes, and again...
Biography of Hymns / Christmas / Church / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 24, 2024 · Last modified December 16, 2024
Günther Simmermacher’s biography of a Christmas carol – Everybody knows the carol “Away In A Manger”, but nobody knows who wrote the words. One tradition has it that...
Catholic trivia / Christmas / Christmas Facts / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 24, 2024 · Last modified December 16, 2024
1. Which city is furthest from Bethlehem? a) Cairo b) Jerusalem c) Nazareth 2. Which South African archbishop was born on Boxing Day? a) Buti Tlhagale b)...
Advent / Christmas / Church / History in Colour
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 23, 2024 · Last modified December 17, 2024
A snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross Children in New York City go window-shopping as Christmas approaches in 1910. The practice of gift-giving...
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 22, 2024 · Last modified January 2, 2025
Debate continues about when Jesus was born and whether Bethlehem was the actual birthplace. Still, some sense can be made of the Gospel accounts of Matthew and...
Advent / Christmas / Church / Question & Answer / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 17, 2024 · Last modified December 16, 2024
Question: According to my priest, December 25 is not the birthday of Our Lord Jesus, and the Church simply turned pagan festivals into Christmas? Can you explain?...
Church / Marian Shrines / Our Lady / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 16, 2024 · Last modified December 14, 2024
Where’s that: The sanctuary of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Las Lajas is located in a canyon of the Guáitara river in Ipiales in southwestern...
Advent / Christmas / Church / Editorials 2024 / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published December 5, 2024
Dear Reader, Every year, many Christians sound the alarm that the feast of the Nativity has been hijacked by commercial interests. Obviously business has a big stake...
Books / Christian Living / Church / Church History / Simmermacher
by Gunther Simmermacher · Published November 12, 2024
Cardinal Stephen Brislin blessed the new premises of the Catholic Bookshop in Cape Town in the presence of invited guests. The bookshop, a long-standing institution in the...
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