VINH, Vietnam (UCAN) -- A couple of parishes, one in central and one in southern Vietnam, organized Christmas parties for street people, disabled and underprivileged people as a way to bring them Christmas joy.

"Today I am very happy that I am much respected, loved, consoled by Catholics, who invited me to a Christmas party for the first time," Cao Van Trang, who needs a wheelchair and survives on begging, told UCA News.

Trang, 42, who is not Catholic, said he lives alone and survives by begging for food on the streets in Vinh city, 300 kilometers south of Ha Noi.

"In the past I felt ashamed of myself when I was driven away by people," he said. Aside from enjoying the company at the party, he also found the food very delicious.

The man was among 350 homeless or disabled people and people who beg for a living who attended the Christmas party on Dec. 20 at the Lap Thach parish hall in Nghi Loc district, six kilometers from Vinh. Party participants came from the city and the villages of Nghi Duc, Nghi Phong and Nghi Thach.

The hall was decorated with a crib, flickering lights and a photo of Pope Benedict XVI. On the wall were the Vietnamese words for "Bread broken into pieces to build a new world," the theme of the party.

Father Raphael Tran Xuan Nhan, the parish priest, told UCA News that on the following day he held three more Christmas parties in the district -- at Nhan Dao Center of Informatics and Foreign Languages, and centers run by nuns of the Lovers of the Holy Cross and Missionaries of Charity congregations.

Nhan Dao Center is headed by Francis Xavier Nguyen Cong Hung, a member of the Noi Vong Tay Lon (large circle of arms) group for disabled people that Father Nhan founded in 2001.

Father Nhan said his parish held such parties for poor and underprivileged people regardless of faith, because "we want to bring Christmas joy, social solidarity, love and friendship to them." Through such parties, non-Catholic people meet and talk with local Catholics, which is a chance to meet and know Jesus, he added.

Many poor people have no food on Christmas, while rich people including atheists celebrate Christmas lavishly by shopping and entertaining, the priest said.

"We decided to hold parties for poor people as a way to sympathize and share Christmas joy," he explained.

Father Nhan e-mailed benefactors ahead of time and received 9 million dong (US$561) from them for the festivities. Party participants -- two-thirds of whom were not Catholics -- were served chicken, shrimp, cuttlefish, soup, rice and wine, the priest said.

Nguyen Thi Mong, 26, told UCA News that she and other participants felt they were treated with respect at the party, as if they were family members. It "makes me forget I'm an orphan," she said.

Some 25 young parishioners volunteered to bring street people and elderly people without relatives to the event, Father Nhan said.

"I am happy that Catholics came to my house and brought me to the party by motorbike," said Nguyen Thi Hue, 75, a childless widow from Nghi Thach village.

Hue said floods and storms this year damaged local houses and rice fields, so thousands are homeless and lack food. Many earn a living collecting used items, fishing on rivers or begging for food, she added.

In Binh An Thuong parish, in Ho Chi Minh City, pastor Father Francis Xavier Nguyen Xuan Quang told UCA News the parish celebrated two Christmas Eve Masses at its church on Dec. 24. Afterward, it offered gifts for children, and a buffet with cake and soymilk that drew 600 people including migrant workers and visitors.

"We want to create a friendly atmosphere between Catholics, and non-Catholic neighbors and sightseers," the priest said, adding that a band had been playing Christmas music and songs for 30 minutes nightly at a big creche outside the church.

Since Dec. 19, Father Quang added, he and 45 people in Santa Claus clothes had been riding bicycles decorated with Christmas decorations and visiting children to give them sweets.

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