Photo courtesy of NASA: Earth hanging like a Christmas ornament in space)

The year is 1968 and with world in turmoil, Apollo 8, the first manned trip to the Moon,  enters orbit on Christmas Eve. 

That evening, the crew sent their historic Christmas greeting to Earth which included the now famous photo of the Earth rising from the Lunar horizon. A view that Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell would later comment, “The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.”

They surprized many when the crew closed the greeting with a reading of Genesis 1:1-10. 

To echo Commander Frank Borman's final words that night forty years ago… 

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you – all of you on the good Earth.

Related link | http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8_xmas.html