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Chandigarh celebrates low-key Christmas
The Christ the King Cathedral in Sector 19 was decked with lights while people could be seen entering the church in a long queue
Residents of the city on Friday celebrated a low-key Christmas amid the pandemic this year as various churches of the city adopted a slew of measures to ensure that people could come pray while maintaining Covid-19 protocol.
The Christ the King Cathedral in Sector 19 was decked with lights while people could be seen entering the church in a long queue. Bishop Ignatius Mascarenhas of the Roman Catholic Church, Simla and Chandigarh Diocese, said, “We conducted a morning service at 8.30am. The same service was also carried out in Hindi at 10am along with a mass.” He added that he had asked many people to pray from home and to celebrate the festival as simply as possible.
At the CNI Church in Sector 18, general secretary Parkash Masih said, the morning service was held online this year, and in the afternoon people came to church just to pray for a few minutes: “Instead of lunch, we prepared sealed portable handouts for people to take home.” The service was performed by Reverend Denzal Peoples.
Midnight mass was also organised in a staggered manner to ensure crowding doesn’t take place. Instead of one midnight mass at the Sector 19 church, three services were held at 5.30pm, 7pm and 9pm on Christmas Eve.
The Tricity Churches Association also organised services throughout the tricity. President Lawrence Malik said all churches said a special prayer for all Covid warriors who had worked throughout the year.
At Jeevan Parivartan Kendra Church in Maloya, pastor Bashir Gill conducted the service and special programmes were organised by children and women there.
Service on New Year
After Christmas, the churches will also be organising special services for New Year’s Eve, but the timing of the services is likely to be changed. As per Bishop Ignatius, there won’t be a midnight service on New Year’s Eve, instead services will be held in a staggered manner on December 31. On January 1, too, two services will be held.
