St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo's Abbassyia district, where a bomb explosion left at least 28 dead and 49 injured on Dec. 11, held a Christmas service Saturday, based on the ancient Julian calendar, just as other Coptic churches across the country did.

However, the spirit of celebration was missing.

"There is no Christmas for us," Samir Abdo, whose 10-year-old granddaughter, Maggie, died in the bombing, told The Washington Post. "The moment Maggie was taken to the hospital, the clock just stopped."

"No one feels festive. I haven't baked a cake," Agence France Presse quoted Labib, a 47-year-old mother of two who lives in the upscale Cairo district of Maadi, as saying. "Fear grips me each time one of my three children goes out."

Labib's daughter, Marina Najji, said, "This is not a happy holiday and I hope it will pass without any problem."

The faith of Copts, who make up about one-tenth of Egypt's population of more than 92 million, still remains strong though. "Every time they bomb a church or attack us, they increase our faith," Tawil, 53, told the Los Angeles Times.

"I will tell the people at my church to pray for those who attack them," Bishop Makarios, the head of the Coptic diocese in Minya province, said in an interview last week, according to the Post. "To love thy enemies, to forgive, and to pray to God to extract evil and darkness from their hearts, not just for the sake of Christians, but all of Egypt."

read more: http://www.christianpost.com/news/egypts-coptic-christians-celebrate-christmas-amid-security-after-church-bombing-172680/

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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon