“Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born…”
Yes! It’s that time of the year when the world delves in the birth of Jesus Christ, the saviour. Just like every other festival like Diwali, Durga Puja and Holi, Christmas too in India is celebrated with much fervour. People across the country, irrespective of religious and social gamut, come together to revel in the spirit of Yuletide.
Christmas in Goa
Festivities in Goa start with the birth of Christ and continue till New Year eve. The Goans are known for their high decibel Christmas revelry. Every street, house and shop is gorgeously decked up with sparkling stars, cotton flakes, Christmas trees, tinsel and streamers. This land of festivities has a very strong inclination towards food with puddings and meat topping the list. On the Christmas Eve, people commemorate the birth of Jesus by hosting Midnight Mass.
Merry-making, dancing and partying forms an inevitable part of the celebrations here. The beaches here come alive with loud music. Two mega-musical events to be held this week, Sunburn and the Supersonic electronic dance music festival, draw tourists from all across the world. The maximum temperature in Goa tomorrow will hover around 31 degrees, while the minimum will settle close to 20 degrees.
Christmas in Kolkata
Kolkata being the first city of British India, adopted the western culture since time immemorial and has an undeniable bond with Christmas celebration. The birth of Christ is celebrated here with much fervour and delight. Though Calcutta has been rechristened to the very 'Bengali' Kolkata, but the spirit of Christmas continues unabated. The public revelry is still intact with plum cakes going to every home and kids taking pleasure in decorating Christmas trees. Every year the famous Park Street is magnificently decked up, pulling thousands of people across the city and even the suburbs.
The city has a good number of Anglo-Indians who indulge in night-long revelry. The alleys of Kolkata reverberate with the aroma of baked goodies and roasted turkey. Christmas carols are sung in every Catholic school to bring 'Joy to the world'. The weather in Kolkata will be comfortable tomorrow with maximum settling around 28 degrees and minimum around 16 degrees.
Christmas in Meghalaya
In Meghalaya around 80 percent of the people are Christians who exchange greetings and gifts with friends and relatives. Kids here recreate the ‘scene of Nativity’ and participate in the festivities with immense enthusiasm. Christmas carols and hymns are sung in churches and missionary schools and institutions are decorated with colourful lights. The maximum and minimum in the state Capital Shillong will linger in the range of 20 degrees while minimum will stay close to 10 degrees.
Christmas is also widely celebrated in the southern cities including Bangalore and Chennai. Mumbai observes a very traditional Christmas with the predominantly Catholic Bandra wearing a festive look to host Midnight Masses. Santa will be here very soon with all his goodies and on this note we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year from the house of Skymet.
picture courtesy- capetravelindia.com & Joseph Jalal
