ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Christmas brings a host of seasonal greetings from world leaders.</s>PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Hello everybody, and Happy Holidays.</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: And along with the greetings comes guidance. President Obama and the first lady encouraged family time, volunteer work, and support of the troops who serve overseas.</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Pope Francis, in his first Christmas message, reflected on suffering in war in Nigeria, South Sudan and in Syria.</s>FRANCIS I: (Foreign language spoken)</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Francis told the crowd at Saint Peter's Basilica: Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance. And he asked God to spare further suffering and to speed an end to the violence.</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: And - while not a world leader - Edward Snowden accepted a invitation from the BBC to give a holiday address.</s>EDWARD SNOWDEN: Hi and Merry Christmas.</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: The former NSA analyst cited the novel 1984, saying government spying is now more powerful than anything George Orwell envisioned.</s>EDWARD SNOWDEN: A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They'll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves - an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought.</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Snowden urged people to find a better balance between technology and privacy, and to end mass surveillance.</s>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
Leaders and notable figures across the world offered up Christmas messages Wednesday. We hear holiday greetings from Pope Francis, President Obama and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.