Pope John Paul on Sunday warned against rampant materialism which he said suffocated the spirit of Christmas. Speaking to thousands of pilgrims in St Peter?s Square, the 84-year-old Pope urged Christians to keep the symbols of Christmas, the nativity crib and the tree, at the centre of their celebrations. ?The message of the Christmas tree is that life is always green if you give, not many material things, but of yourself through friendship and sincere affection, through help and forgiveness, by spending time together and listening to each other,? he said.

?The feast of Christmas, perhaps the most dear of the popular traditions, is rich in symbols related to many cultures. Among them all, the most important is certainly the crib,? the Pope said, overlooking the life-size nativity scene that stands in St. Peter?s Square each year. The Vatican is waging an increasingly high-profile campaign to remind Roman Catholic Italy not to compromise the spirit of Christmas through excess or dumb it down out of fear of offending a growing Muslim population.

Vatican officials in recent weeks have criticised a London nativity scene, which showed soccer star David Beckham, and his wife Victoria as Joseph and Mary, and an Italian school that swapped its traditional nativity play for Red Riding Hood. A poll released by a marketing magazine on Sunday revealed more than 50 Italian priests had demanded a ban on what they called trash television until after the New Year to show respect for the holiday?s Christian roots.