Prayers, carols, picnics & parties mark Christmas across Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Carol singing, midnight prayer (holy mass) and remembering Jesus Christ in churches marked Christmas celebrations across the state on Thursday. The churches were tastefully decorated with mistletoe, colourful lights, stars, bells, cribs, candles and Christmas trees.After carol singing was over, believers at St Vincent’s Church, Satya Nagar, took part in the midnight prayers (holy mass). With moist eyes, they received holy communion (holy sacrament) after confession and kissed Infant Jesus as a devotional act showing love, humility and union with Christ.Parish priest Ajay Sabhasundar of St Vincent’s Church said they prayed in unison for peace and prosperity across the world. “We also conducted carol singing, holy mass and related activities on Thursday morning. A large number of believers thronged our other three churches at Kalinga Vihar, Bharatpur and Nayapalli in the city,” he added.Families thronged Union Church in Unit-4. “We organised mass prayers in the morning (English) and afternoon (Odia) and sang songs to praise Lord Jesus. His birth brought a lot of joy to the earth. We celebrate it with mass prayers,” said a pastor of Union Church, Ayub Chinchani, who conducted the prayers.Susanta Patra, a prominent Christian leader, was the main speaker at Union Church. He delivered a sermon for believers gathered there. Similarly, Assembly of God Church at Ekamra Villa conducted midnight prayers and thereafter, holy mass on Thursday morning. They also exchanged Christmas gifts with friends at the church.Residents of twin cities observed the day with much grandeur and fervour. Christmas get-togethers were organised at different places. Even people from other communities were seen greeting others through social networking sites and outside churches. Youths wearing Santa Claus caps were spotted taking selfies and group photos at the churches.Similarly, churches in Kandhamal, Gajapati, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj and other districts celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ at churches. People were seen celebrating the day by cutting cakes at hotels, restaurants and homes and spending quality time with their friends by going on picnics and tourist places on Thursday.People even thronged Puri Jagannath Temple to pay obeisance to the holy Trinity before the English New Year begins.Celebrations in Kandhamal & GajapatiChristians in Kandhamal celebrated Christmas amid tight security on Thursday. Braving severe cold (sub-10ºC temperature), hundreds of believers thronged decorated churches since Wednesday midnight, even though the night temperature of Phulbani and other places dipped below 10 degree Celsius.Around 27 platoons of police forces and 85 officers were deployed in sensitive places, night parolling was also intensified. “There was no untoward incident reported anywhere,” said SP (Kandhamal) Harish BC.Similarly in Gajapati district, at least three platoons of forces were deployed in sensitive areas like Mohana, Adava, R Udayagiri and Gumma areas, where Christians celebrated Christmas peacefully.