Faria D’costa, a homemaker, believes that on New Year’s night invoking God’s blessing is essential. “This New Year is special, as both my daughters have flown down from Dubai to celebrate the occasion. As a family, we begin the year by attending church service, saying prayers and with some good old wine,” she added.

However, some others such as Priya Joseph, a second year B Com student, had planned to combine religion and partying. She partied well with her friends after attending the church service. Among the churches which conducted watch night services and special  prayers were the Full Gospel Assembly of God Church, which arranged the event at the Charles Ground in Lingarajapura attracting over 30,000 people, and the Garden City Assembly of God Church.