Christmas comes alive in Karachi at festive winter market

The Alliance Française hosted the one-day festival

KARACHI:

Karachi welcomed the festive season with a lively Christmas Market at Alliance Française de Karachi. Inspired by traditional European Christmas markets but infused with distinctly local colours, the one-day event drew large crowds from across the city.

The venue was adorned in classic Christmas shades of red, white and gold, while live performances by Nixar Records, the St Anthony’s Choir, and The In Time Band kept the audience entertained throughout the day.

The storytelling segment featured Nida Farid, who presented The Extraordinary Life of Riz, a session warmly received by both children and adults.

Food stalls offered an impressive mix of traditional and international tastes, classic Christmas turkey, flatbreads, birria tacos and charcoal-grilled burgers to pani puri, dumplings, cinnamon rolls, brownies and Christmas-themed coffee. 

For families, the market served as an ideal weekend outing. Children took part in Santa’s Treasure Hunt, Christmas crafts, mehndi, Pot-A-Plant and Spin the Wheel. 

Among the many stalls, one that stood out belonged to Genesis, a shelter home for girls who have survived forced conversions and early marriages.

Speaking to Express Tribune, Genesis representative Sijal Shafique said:“We’ve launched a small brand for these girls. They were once victims, but today they are survivors. They’ve created small handicrafts—bracelets and other items—and they want to sell them so they can earn independently, regain confidence, and support their families.”

She said, “The beauty of this market is that although the organiser herself is Muslim, this is a Christmas Market and minorities are welcomed here with open arms. You don’t usually see Christmas being celebrated like this in Pakistan, especially in Karachi. Here, people were singing carols together without any discrimination something rarely witnessed.”

Sijal said that the event is inclusive in every way, “It’s not only Christmas-themed products. You’ll find regular clothes and everyday items as well. It’s like any public festival where anyone can come and buy anything. We call it a Christmas Market simply because it’s held during the Christmas season."

In conversation with The Express Tribune, the event organiser Irum shared the origins of the idea.

“We used to celebrate Christmas very casually. I’m a Muslim myself, but our family always celebrated Christmas. Covid changed that, it forced us to stop and reflect. There was so much sorrow, loneliness and unemployment during that period, but women showed immense resilience and started small home-based businesses.”

According to her, "Most of the businesses you see here today were launched during Covid by women. There’s nothing imported, everything is local, handmade and authentically Pakistani.”

She added, “The transgender community is also present here. Since they don’t have their own church, they created a separate space. We also have ‘Jhankar’, an organisation running an ambulance service for animals—offering spay, neuter and vaccination before sending them back.”

“The stall from Pakistan Navy’s Special Children’s School is extraordinary, these children create things with astonishing skill. Artisans from Thar like Sunita and Sangeeta are also showcasing their craft.”

Anand Kumar from Tharparker said, “We’ve created a unique line of hoodies by embedding traditional ralli patchwork into modern designs. This blend of heritage and contemporary style features patterns crafted by our artisans in Thar and Umarkot. We’ve recently launched the collection, starting from Karachi, and we’re now expanding to Islamabad and Lahore.” 

The organiser emphasised the true essence of the market, The goal is simple: to support local small businesses and women. 

Visitors expressed happiness that Karachi is increasingly embracing global traditions like festive markets, which not only enrich the city’s cultural life but also promote harmony across religions and communities.