*Special prayers held for peace in UT
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 25: Christmas, the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ, was celebrated today with religious fervor and gaiety across Jammu and Kashmir. However, the celebrations were a low-key affair due to the Coronavirus-related restrictions.
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Due to COVID-19 pandemic, night prayers in the Churches were limited to only few devotees. However, special prayers during the day were held in almost all churches which were beautifully decorated from internally as well as externally with colourful buntings and balloons and were wearing a festive look.
The administration has made elaborate arrangements to ensure that the devotees follow all SOPs while visiting and performing prayers in the churches. However, unlike every year no rush of devotees was witnessed in main churches of Jammu at Gandhi Nagar and Prem Nagar, Jammu City.
At St Mary’s Garrison Church in Gandhi Nagar area, devotees from almost all religions were seen paying obeisance to Jesus Christ while wearing face masks and following all social distancing norms. Similar scenes were witnessed at other churches of Jammu including St Peters Catholic Church at Prem Nagar (Jammu), Prarthana Bhavan Church on RS Pura Road and Christ the King Church at Jourian.
In Kashmir, the biggest gathering of devotees was at Holy Family Catholic Church at Maulana Azad Road in Srinagar where people belonging to the Christian faith arrived and took part in the special prayers that were held. Santa Claus was also seen roaming around and trying to entertain the children present within the premises of the Church.
On the occasion, people from the church participated in the chorus prayers. The children on the occasion also held special prayers in which the gathering that was present in the church participated. The Father of Church conducted prayers in which he prayed for the speedy recovery of those who were affected by the COVID-19 and also prayed for the end of the pandemic that has engulfed the world.
Those who thronged the church on the occasion said the celebrations were marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and they hope that next year the situation will be different.
At Saint Mary’s Church in the ski-resort Gulmarg, several tourists joined the celebrations while as the locals also greeted them on the occasion. St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Baramulla also witnessed similar scenes.
“This year, the mass was celebrated differently; we had to keep in consideration the SOPs as the pandemic continues to be there. We made sure that there is no rush of people inside the Church and therefore, we divided the participation of people in the prayers that were held,” Father of the Church said.
He added that this year, the minuscule population of Christians could not celebrate Christmas as a community due to COVID-19 pandemic. “While it was different this year, we seek Almighty’s help in helping us face this with strength and that’s all we can do,” he said.
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