Just a couple of days to Christmas and the City is excited, with all the preparations.
From churches to residences, from elders to youngsters, shopowners to customers, everywhere, everybody is just filled with the spirit of the season.
Christians all over the City are inviting relatives to share the celebrations. The churches, not just houses, are being decorated in a novel fashion to give a different touch to the festival this time.
The Christmas cribs, lanterns, trees, and stars are all designed and prepared with enthusiasm. Design experts are guiding eager children and adults on how to make the celebrations look unique.
The St Francis Xavier Church and Church of South India church in the City are already lit up. The cribs are being given final touches, before installing the idol of Infant Jesus and Mother Mary.
Peter, chairperson of the St Francis Xavier Youth Federation, told Deccan Herald that efforts are taken to give the crib as close a look as the birthplace of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem, near Jerusalem.
A representative of the Church of South India said the crib at the church is laid on the lawn on the church premises, with special decorations and lighting.
“The church will obviously have a different feel with hundreds of people visiting for the midnight mass on December 24,” the representative explained.
In Kolar
The City is abuzz with youths setting up cribs, churches organising special prayers and others preparing cakes and buying gifts for the occasion. Shops are doing brisk business, selling various artifacts, including figurines of Chirst and others, gifts and decorative items.
More than these ostentatious practices, spirit of Christmas lies in change of heart, said Joseph of Jnanamandira School in the city.
“Our eyes will be welled up when we offer prayers on this day. We pray Jesus Christ to take care of the poor, the exploited, the sufferers and all, saying: ‘we are your children. Forgive us for our mistake and lead us by hand’.”
“The festival has a power to unite warring minds and confession of mistakes and penance for the same will help us rid of the past and begin life afresh,” Joseph said.
The eight churches, including Methodist Church, Roman Catholic, Shaloma A G Church and Elam, have been painted a week ago and are now busy erecting cribs. Besides Christmas tree, crib and lantern on December 25.
The celebration will culminate with a feast that would comprise sweets and meat along with juice and drinks.
With five days left for New Year later, the festive mood that Christmas brings in will spill over for over a week, roping in members of all the communities and social strata for revelry.