Himadri Kalita
Hark! The herald angels sing
’Glory to the new born King,
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!’
Every convent student remembers this Christmas carol by heart and has imprinted it on heart. Christmas celebration at convent schools is incomplete without this beautiful melody sung by all.
Christmas is a Christian festival celebrated every year on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Guwahati has one of the oldest churches in the entire northeast region located near Nehru Park in Pan Bazar. The Christ Church was constructed in the year 1844 and sanctified in 1850.
With this several other churches were also built in the city where every Sunday the Christians gather to offer prayers and during Easter festival, Christmas and other occasions.
On Christmas Day, the Christians gather at the church for an intimate praying service in the morning followed by other celebrations.
On this day, every school in the city celebrates the festival at their premises for its students and others. Don Bosco School in Pan Bazar starts the celebration with ‘Jingle Mingle’ which is solely for the past pupils of the school celebrated on the eve of Christmas.
The next day, fathers and sisters gather at the church for an intimate praying service and in the evening the church is opened for all to offer their prayers to the mighty Jesus. The church witnessed huge amount of crowd during this time as people from distance visits the church.
During the covid-19 outbreak, the celebration at the church was affected due to restrictions and the jingle mingle was also canceled. During that time, the door of the church remained closed during Christmas to restrict crowd gathering. After three years, the Jingle Mingle will be celebrated on Christmas Eve and the door of the church will remain open for the people to offer prayers.
Elsewhere, in St. Mary’s Senior Secondary School, Maligaon, Christmas Day is celebrated with the students before December 25.
As a past pupil of the school, December is the month when every student recalls the moment spent during their school life. I remember that before winter break started our school used to organize exams and on the last day of the exam we would celebrate Christmas with our respected Sisters, teachers and fellow students.
We would sing Christmas carols, especially ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,’ a skit on the birth of Jesus Christ followed by cake for everyone.
And on the day of Christmas, the school would be decorated for its students to visit and offer prayers.
I passed out of that school in the year 2017 and it’s been five years and the school still follows its traditional way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas Day is celebrated like any other festival in Guwahati. Malls, streets, restaurants and others are decorated with Christmas trees and lights.
