Photo: Christmas Eve in St. Peter's Square

"People walk around a Nativity scene, center below the obelisk, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Pope Benedict XVI is gearing up for his Christmas celebrations with Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican's Christmas festivities began several hours earlier Wednesday with the unveiling of the larger-than-life Nativity scene next to the Vatican's largest-ever Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)."