All set for Christmas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

PESHAWAR:

The Christian community of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will celebrate Christmas with traditional zeal, fervour and enthusiasm on Saturday.

On the eve of Christmas, special prayer services will be held in all major churches of the province and large number of people from the community will participate in the religious celebrations. Special Christmas trees have been prepared for the occasion in almost each household by the community members and special foods and sweet dishes are also cooked to celebrate the day.

Christians have also decorated their houses with colourful lights, balloons and other decorative items. The main ritual of the Christmas celebration is decoration of Christmas tree to welcome the arrival of Santa Claus also known as Father Christmas. Special services will be held in all major churches, including the All Saints Church, Saint Josepha Catholic Church, Cathedral Church and Saint Michael Catholic Church that have been decorated with colourful lights and Christmas trees accordingly. The participants will offer special prayers for progress and prosperity of the country. The Christmas cake cutting ceremonies are part of the celebrations across province in which government officails and dignitaries will participate to share joy of Christian community. The district administration and police have finalized stringent security arrangements for a peaceful Christmas celebrations and to avoid any untoward incident. Police have installed walk through gates and heavy contingents of security personnel have been deployed outside and inside at churches for safety purpose.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2021.