Bishop of the Jakarta Archdiocese, Cardinal Suharyo, believes that the message of “living as friends to everyone” aims to thwart the rise in hatred stemming from a depleting sense of togetherness among Indonesians.

Suharyo pointed to three indications of hatred, intolerance, and identity politics marking the start of diminishing togetherness in society and often observed in friendships and relations.

"Those are the signs that the sense of togetherness is diminishing among the people as citizens of a country. Such words did not exist 10 years back, thereby translating to the fact that the problem was not as prevalent as it is now," he stated at Jakarta's Cathedral Church, Wednesday.

He highlighted the need for a way out and was optimistic that the 2019 Christmas celebrations would offer a momentum to trounce over hate speeches, intolerance, and identity politics.

This year's Christmas celebration themed, "Live as Friends to Everyone," serves as the initial steps to restore optimism and togetherness among the people.

"Live as friends for everyone to fight the flow of hate speech, the current of intolerance, and the surge in identity politics," he emphasized.

In light of the Christmas celebrations, the Jakarta Cathedral Church held four mass services at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and lastly at 5 p.m. local time.

Jakarta's Cathedral Church Archdiocese Public Relations division has projected that some eight thousand people in total had participated in all four mass services. (ANTARA. (ANTARA)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo wished a Merry Christmas to all Christians in the country through his verified social media account @jokowi on Instagram, Wednesday. In his remarks, the President uploaded an illustrated picture showing a family celebrating Christmas together.

The President also wrote a message where he hoped that peace, joy, and harmony will always accompany us.

"To my Christian brothers and sisters throughout the country and wherever they are, may peace, joy and harmony continue to accompany us," the President wrote in the account managed by his Digital Communications Team.

In addition to the President, Chairman of DPP Gerindra Prabowo Subianto, who is also Indonesia’s Minister of Defense, conveyed his Christmas greetings through the social media.

Through his Instagram account Insta Story @Prabowo, he echoed the President’s greetings, "To my brothers and sisters who are Christians, congratulations on celebrating Christmas 2019. May peace and harmony between religious believers accompany our beloved nation."

Meanwhile, Indonesia's sixth president and Chairman of the Democratic Party Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, through his Twitter account @SBYudhoyono prayed for Christmas 2019 to bring happiness and hope to Christians.

Yudhoyono invited all Indonesians to respect Christians who celebrate Christmas so that the celebrations takes place safely and peacefully.

"May this 2019 Christmas bring happiness & hope to Christians. Let's respect our brothers and sisters who celebrate Christmas so that everything take place safely and peacefully. Hopefully in this beloved country there will always be harmony, love and brotherhood among all of us * SBY *," Yudhoyono tweeted from his account. (ANTARA)

Illustration: A Christmas carol was performed in Jakarta.(ANTARA)

Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate is upbeat about peaceful and harmonious Christmas celebrations for the entire nation.

Plate made the statement as minister during his first open house event marked by varying Christmas nuances, featuring arts from Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

"It is time for us to share our feelings and excitement with others. Strengthen life in harmony as a nation," he stated at his private residence in Jakarta, Wednesday.

He organized an open house to receive invited guests and media reporters on Christmas Day. He expressed hope that Christmas would offer an opportunity to reflect upon ways to build harmony and kinship.

"Concurrently, we hope that the momentum offered by this Christmas would be used for self-reflection and to build harmony and kinship," he noted.

This year's Christmas is the first one for Plate as a minister, as he was sworn in to office in last October. Instead of featuring the typical Christmas songs, Plate chose to introduce arts from Manggarai, Flores, since the area is where he was originally from and to also introduce local creations to his guests.

Moreover, Labuan Bajo, located in Flores, has become one of the tourism destinations prioritized by the government.

"Raising local values and local prowess is part of the efforts to boost the people’s participation in the tourism industry that is currently being developed," he stated.

The minister held a Christmas open house on Wednesday from afternoon until 4 p.m. local time. (ANTARA)

The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.(ANTARA)

Christmas provides people with the moment to reflect on what has transpired in the past year, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has said.

On the sidelines of the 2019 Open House Christmas at his official residence, the Widya Chandra Complex, Jakarta Wednesday, he said the moment was also meant to gather with family.

"We gathered last night with our children and grandchildren, so we certainly reflect for a year on what we have made. My wife and I also reflect. We are also human beings who are full of mistakes," Pandjaitan said.

He also shared his experiences with his grandchildren, he said. He did that while advising them not to repeat their mistakes.

Christmas Day was a moment to also share feelings, including difficulty and happiness, Pandjaitan said.

"That is the essence of life. Life is about sharing our happiness so that we can be comfortable in our environment. I think that is the message of Christmas," he said.

He also mentioned that the message of Christmas around the world was not much different, namely to bring a message of peace and provide happiness. Likewise, was the message carried by other religions, of bringing a message of peace.

Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate earlier said he was optimistic about peaceful and harmonious Christmas celebrations for the entire nation.

Plate made the statement as a minister during his first open house event marked by various Christmas nuances, featuring arts from Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

"It is time for us to share our feelings and excitement with others. Strengthen life in harmony as a nation," he stated at his private residence in Jakarta.

At the open house where he had guests and reporters, he expressed hope that Christmas would offer an opportunity to reflect upon ways to build harmony and kinship.

"Concurrently, we hope that the moment offered by this Christmas would be used for self-reflection and build harmony and kinship," he noted.

This year's Christmas is the first one for Plate as a minister, as he was sworn into office last October. Instead of featuring the typical Christmas songs, Plate chose to introduce arts from Manggarai, Flores, since the area is where he was originally from and to also introduce local creations to his guests.  (ANTARA)