Rome ? From the walls of Vatican City to Bethlehem’s Manger Square and beyond, the world celebrated Christmas amid terror warnings and Mideast violence that underscored Pope John Paul II’s latest appeal for peace.

U.S. troops in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit paused in their patrols Thursday to mark the holiday with sliced turkey, cranberry sauce and apple pie. Their colleagues in Afghanistan sang Christmas carols and dressed as Santas and elves in a parade of decorated jeeps and Humvees.

“Of course it bothers me that I’m away from my family. But I’m doing good work so it doesn’t bother me so much,” said Sgt. Jay Coniglia, a 10th Mountain Division soldier from Rochester, N.Y., as he manned the gate at the base in Afghanistan at Bagram.

“I have no idea how many more Christmases we’ll be here — as many as it takes,” he said.

The Christmas mood was a bit more gloomy in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where Filipino workers bused in from Israel were virtually the only foreigners attending English-language Masses in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

As Thursday wore on, though, residents of Bethlehem got into the Christmas mood by donning Santa outfits, carrying Mickey Mouse balloons and eating pink cotton candy in a festive holiday parade.

The pope turned his thoughts to Israelis and Palestinians during his traditional Christmas greeting.

“Save us from the wars and armed conflicts which lay waste whole areas of the world, from the scourge of terrorism and from the many forms of violence which assail the weak and the vulnerable,” John Paul said to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square under a brilliant sun.