The famous cathedral square in Cologne has been turned into a so-called security zone for Christmas with armed police and secure checkpoints aiming to prevent potential terror attacks. Christmas in Cologne has been placed on lockdown, with armed police out in full force in the square outside the imposing Cologne cathedral which celebrated Christmas mass Saturday evening. Several police vans were highly visible including officers armed with sub-machine guns guarding the main entrance to the cathedral. The bags of worshipers were searched for the first time ever as Germany still live in fear of continued Islamic terror attacks, reports Die Welt. Dean of the cathedral Gerd Bachner said “several thousand” people had their bags inspected by police and said that it was the first time such security measures had ever been used at the cathedral. “You have to get used to it,” he said. While Germany is still on high alert for potential terrorist attacks after the Berlin Christmas market massacre that killed 12 and injured almost 50 others, the police in Cologne did their best to be jovial. One officer while looking into a woman’s purse even joked, “is there something in there for me?” as he used his flashlight to examine the contents. The officers