Xmas festivities light up twin cities

As the month of Christmas -- December -- has begun, the Christian community in the country including the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has begun preparations to celebrate the religious festival with zeal and fervour.

Before December 25 (the day of Christmas), Christians usually make and buy Christmas trees and decorate their houses to rejoice in their annual event. Green, white, and whole-white Christmas trees are sold in addition to green-coloured Christmas trees. Children's clothes and gifts are bought while orders are given to confectionaries and cake-making companies to prepare a variety of Christmas cakes. Just like regular shoppers, Christmas shoppers also come across rising costs of Christmas items.

Residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi visit Jinnah Supermarket, Supermarket, Kohsar Market, Lal Kurti Bazaar and Saddar Bank Road for Christmas preparations. The markets' splendour has also increased with the glittering of small and large Christmas trees and decorations.

The joy of Christmas is incomplete without a Christmas tree. A lush green Christmas tree is a symbol of hope and eternal life. Decorating homes with green tree branches is part of the ancient Roman tradition, especially during the winter and the coming of the New Year.

The pointed texture of the Christmas tree rising towards the horizon points to the sky and also shows man's relationship with the Creator of the universe.

The demand for tall Christmas trees has been increasing over the last few years as Christmas trees with 10 to 12 feet height are being sold this year as well. These Christmas trees, prepared by coating plastic on metal wires, are mostly installed in big hotels, commercial centres, embassies and Christian places of worship.

Due to inflation and rising dollar value, the cost of Christmas trees and other decoration equipment is on the rise this year.

While other communities share Christmas greetings and cakes with Christians, the latter also interact with their Christian friends with cakes.

Confectionaries, this time too, have prepared special cakes for Christmas, while bakeries and cake shops of five-star hotels have especially prepared Christmas cakes and started selling them.

Sarah Peter, Sheeran Peter, Sunil, Erin, Anil, Shahzeb Masih, David and Gabriel D'Souza say in this era of inflation, everything has become expensive, but one has to spend to celebrate happiness. "On Christmas day, we treat our guests with cakes."

In addition to sweets and special food items, Santa Claus costumes and special hats are very popular in the Christian community. Since new clothes and hats aren't affordable, most Christians prefer to buy used Santa Claus clothes and hats imported from abroad.

The prices of these used clothes comprising red and white colours are also being charged from Rs500 to Rs2000. Santa Claus costumes are also available for newborns and infants, while older adults can dress up as Santa Claus to spread the joy. Plus-size dresses are available for Rs2,500 to Rs3,000.

Shopkeeper Atif says the purchasing power of the Christian community is already very low and now inflation has made decoration materials expensive by 30 to 50%.

He adds that the price of an eight to 10-foot-high Christmas tree costs Rs1,000 more than last year's price. "A 10-foot Christmas tree is being sold for up to Rs10,000, while an eight-foot Christmas tree is being charged for Rs4,000 to Rs5,000."

To decorate the Christmas trees, decoration items like twinkling stars, small Christmas bells, small Santa Claus-like dolls and electric bulbs are also being sold, Atif says.