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City gets ready to soak in the Christmas spirit
As people seek to make up for the festive occasions lost to Covid in the past, cake orders have doubled and bakeries in Camp are busy meeting last-minute orders
The city streets are decked out with Christmas lights and residents have made plans of celebration and relaxation during the holiday weekend.
Sanjay Jadhav, who is associated with a media firm, is done with pre-Christmas celebrations and is looking forward to spending the festival with friends and family, and getting reviews about his homemade delectable sweets.
“On Saturday, we gathered for midnight mass to kick off the celebrations. As the church has placed no restrictions on the number of people who can attend the mass, this season will be more enjoyable than the previous two affected by the Covid pandemic,” Jadhav said.
Baptist D’Souza, priest at St Anthony’s Church at Solapur Bazar in Camp, said, “The church has been decorated for the big day, and we are ready to welcome the birth of Lord Jesus Christ. A large crowd will gather at the church for midnight and morning mass.”
As people seek to make up for the festive occasions lost to Covid in the past, cake orders have doubled and bakeries in Camp are busy meeting last-minute orders.
“Customers are ordering multiple cakes this holiday season. We are working extra hours to complete our orders,” said Leo Joseph, who owns a cake shop in Camp.
Richa Pedro, who works at an IT firm in HInjewadi, is eagerly waiting to celebrate Christmas with her relatives residing in Mumbai.
“Majority of my relatives live in Mumbai and we have not been able to celebrate Christmas since past two years. We have planned a four-day family trip to Mahabaleshwar after December 25,” she said.
Santa hats in high demand
Roadside vendors selling Santa hats have been in high demand over the last two days. “Children and teenagers alike are asking for Christmas hats. Along with caps, Christmas trees are in high demand,” Aafak Shaikh, a roadside vendor on MG Road, stated.
Secret Santa and office parties
Many offices in the city, before going on holidays, organised parties on Saturday.
“I received a leather jacket from my Secret Santa. The office was in a joyful mood and majority of colleagues are going to visit a hill station for the new year celebrations,” said Atul Paranjape, an IT professional from Hinjewadi.
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