Christian community set for a grand Christmas

Nashik/Kolhapur: Members of the Christian community are gearing up for grand Christmas celebrations this year after two years of muted festivities due to the pandemic.
The hustle-bustle around Christmas has already started in almost all Christian households. Unlike the past two years, devotees are preparing to throng their churches and meet and greet their loved ones.
Brightson Kochat, a resident of the Nashik Road area, said, “Everyone is excited about Christmas celebrations this year.In the past two years, due to the Covid outbreak, carol singing had not really taken place. But this year, that will change. We will invite our friends and relatives to our home for Christmas.”
Not just Christians, but even people from all other communities come together to celebrate the festival.
Mahrukh Mistry, who has more than 300 Santa Claus dolls in her house, said she is extremely happy because this year she, would be able to invite her friends and relatives for Christmas. She told TOI, “Our family celebrates all the Indian festivals like Parsi New Year, Gudi Padwa, Ganeshotsav, Diwali and Christmas. Our Christmas decorations are set up on December 24, and we keep them on till January 8 every year. During this period, everyone visiting our house gets a gift, cake, and sweets as a token of Santa’s good wishes.”
The festive spirit has similarly engulfed Kolhapur city as well.
Nita Mali, a staff nurse at the Chhatrapati Pramila Raje Civil Hospital, had requested an adjustment to her work duty schedule for Christmas, and the request was promptly granted. In return, her colleagues will be expecting delicious doughnuts, cookies and cakes Mali will bake during Christmas.
“As Christmas is almost here, we are against the time. Managing my job, shopping, spending hours in the kitchen, and getting the house cleaned and decorated is enjoyable though hectic. For me, Christmas is all about the joy of giving. I have a lot of non-Christian friends who never forget to share their delicacies prepared during their festivals,” said Mali.
John Bhore, a Kolhapur resident, said, “We donate blankets, clothes and food to NGOs during Christmas. This time, we have decided to provide tea and milk to the students from a hostel for the entire year. Some people want foodgrain, so we are making that available too,” said Bhore.