Rain fails to dampen festive spirit | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Rain failed to dampen the festive spirit as the faithful gathered in churches across state to celebrate Christmas on Wednesday.
In Bhubaneswar, former chief minister Naveen Patnaik attended the prayer service at Union Church in Unit-4 briefly. “We organised mass prayers in the morning and afternoon. We sang songs to praise the Lord Jesus. His birth brought joy to the world and we celebrate the occasion with mass prayers,” a priest at the church said.
The Assembly of God Church at Ekamra Villa started celebrations from midnight on Tuesday. “We conducted prayers and sang songs praising the lord as part of the ‘vigilant night service’ by staying awake throughout the night. In the morning, we also conducted prayers and exchanged Christmas gifts with friends at the church. Besides, we organised cultural programmes as the Christmas celebrations began,” Chittaranjan Nayak, a senior priest of the church, said.
Some even chose to address environmental concerns on the occasion. A man dressed as Santa Claus was seen distributing saplings, with help from 20-odd college-going volunteers of an NGO, outside St Vincent’s Church at Satya Nagar, while singing in Odia. “We all associate Christmas with trees and we decorate evergreen trees such as fir and pine on the occasion because they symbolize life and growth. In this period of climate change, the best gifts are trees to show that you care about the environment,” Sujit Mohapatra of the NGO said.
Even people from other communities were seen taking part in the celebrations as they clicked selfies outside churches, that were adorned with lights, stars, bells, candles and trees. They were also seen celebrating the day by cutting cakes in hotels and restaurants, which offered festive special delicacies.
However, picnic spots like Nandankanan Botanical Garden, Marine Drive in Puri and other places did not attract crowds like previous years due to rain.
In Bhubaneswar, former chief minister Naveen Patnaik attended the prayer service at Union Church in Unit-4 briefly. “We organised mass prayers in the morning and afternoon. We sang songs to praise the Lord Jesus. His birth brought joy to the world and we celebrate the occasion with mass prayers,” a priest at the church said.
The Assembly of God Church at Ekamra Villa started celebrations from midnight on Tuesday. “We conducted prayers and sang songs praising the lord as part of the ‘vigilant night service’ by staying awake throughout the night. In the morning, we also conducted prayers and exchanged Christmas gifts with friends at the church. Besides, we organised cultural programmes as the Christmas celebrations began,” Chittaranjan Nayak, a senior priest of the church, said.
Some even chose to address environmental concerns on the occasion. A man dressed as Santa Claus was seen distributing saplings, with help from 20-odd college-going volunteers of an NGO, outside St Vincent’s Church at Satya Nagar, while singing in Odia. “We all associate Christmas with trees and we decorate evergreen trees such as fir and pine on the occasion because they symbolize life and growth. In this period of climate change, the best gifts are trees to show that you care about the environment,” Sujit Mohapatra of the NGO said.
Even people from other communities were seen taking part in the celebrations as they clicked selfies outside churches, that were adorned with lights, stars, bells, candles and trees. They were also seen celebrating the day by cutting cakes in hotels and restaurants, which offered festive special delicacies.
However, picnic spots like Nandankanan Botanical Garden, Marine Drive in Puri and other places did not attract crowds like previous years due to rain.
