Christmas celebrations bring hope & joy to cities across Maharashtra

Nashik, Kolhapur: The festive spirit of Christmas was palpable across the state on Wednesday, with cities like Nashik and Kolhapur embracing the season of joy, love, and hope.In different parts of the state, cribs outside churches and in the verandas of many households depicted the birth of Lord Jesus, catching the attention of passersby. Churches saw hectic activity for the prayers on Christmas Eve and for the festival itself.In Nashik city, a large number of people visited different churches in the evening along with their family and friends to attend the Christmas eve Mass. Father Errol Fernandes, of the Shrine of Infant Jesus, said, "This year, the theme of our Christmas is ‘Hope Enters Silently Into Our Hopeless World'. In a world that is broken because of war, strife, division, and disunity, a small baby born in a manger brings hope. This hope is not deceptive, but real. It tells us that despite what we may do to harm each other, what we might do to spread hate and warmongering, God will never give up on us. To be sure, the world is indeed broken today as it was when Jesus came into the world, but it is also true that when he came, he brought peace, joy, hope, and love. Today more than ever, we need this hope in the form of Jesus to be born in our hearts and so in our world."Many people from the Christian community residing away from Nashik on account of their work or business were back with their respective families for the festival of togetherness. Edmond Dias, who works in an insurance company in Mumbai, said, "It is impossible not to come home for the Christmas celebration with family and friends. There are a lot of people like me, whom I meet at the church on Christmas Eve and on the day of Christmas."Several parishioners also said it was an occasion to meet friends who were not in regular touch at the church after a year or two. Meanwhile, considering the festive period and the possibility of drunk driving, the city police maintained a strict bandobast with nakabandi and checks for drunk driving in different parts of the city.In Kolhapur city, carol bands went on a hopping spree from house to house and locality to locality to sing songs in praise of Jesus and take the festive mood to another level. The special Midnight Mass to celebrate the birth of Jesus was scheduled to be held across various churches such as Wilder Memorial Church, All Saints' Church, Bhramapuri Church and Christ Church, among several others.The attraction among children was the crib sets depicting the scene of nativity and featuring statues of Jesus, Mother Mary, shepherds and angels, decked up at the churches, schools and malls. "From snacks to sweets, from doughnuts to cakes, everything is ready to savour and share with friends and relatives. We usually buy cakes from the neighbourhood bakery, but this time we decided to prepare them at home. We are ready for the prayers and celebrations," said Victor.Christian Ekata Manch's John Bhore said, "We distributed snacks to the homeless people. On Christmas Day, we are going to sing prayers at a jail on the invitation."