HYDERABAD: Christmas was celebrated with traditional enthusiasm and gaiety as a sea of worshippers thronged the city churches to offer prayers on Monday.Churches including the Methodist church, St Mary’s church, St Joseph’s Cathedral were decked up and special services were held for the worshippers. In the line up to Christmas, carol nights were also organised across various churches in the city.
The midnight mass at St John’s church in East Marredpally saw a special British-era pipe organ, which was played on full volume by Commodore TMJ Champion.
“It is not just a day of sharing gifts and cakes but also to spread the joy of the birth of Jesus Christ. And what better way than to spend it with family. We went to church, celebrated the day with family by cutting cakes and sharing it with friends in our neighbourhood,” said Vijay Verghese, a resident of Moosapet.
Meanwhile, Hyderabadis were seen making the most of the long weekend that began from Friday and will continue till Boxing Day on Tuesday.
Most of the city roads remained choked due to traffic snarls. The Metro stations too saw a heavy rush as large number of people poured in to take joy ride after offering prayers.
Prakash Utsav celebrated
Meanwhile, the 351st birth anniversary celebrations (Prakash Utsav) of Sri Guru Gobind Singh, the spiritual mast of sikhism, concluded on Monday with thousands of Sikh devotees and other community faiths celebrating it with religious fervour and offered prayers.
The major attraction of the concluding celebrations was organised under the aegis of Prabhandak Committee of Central Gurdwara Saheb Gowliguda, where large number of Sikh devotees and other communities participated in the ‘Vishaal Deewan’ (mass congregation) by offering prayers to Guru Granth Sahib at Nizam College Grounds in Basheerbagh. The congregation began on Monday at 11 am continued till 6 pm and was marked by recitations.