CHENNAI: A magical flick of seasonal joy had painted The Leela Palace with the Christmas spirit. Adorned with blinking lights and decorations, a 25-feet white Christmas tree at the end of the courtyard welcomed everyone to the hotel. “This year, we placed the tree in the middle of the courtyard for the first time. Usually, the tree is inside the hotel. Also, it is one of the biggest Christmas trees in the city,” shared Ayappan, hotel manager, at the tree lighting ceremony on Saturday.
Ceremony of cheers
The visitors to the ceremony which included the city residents, people from other states, and international guests assembled to be a part of the celebrations. Wearing red and white Christmas hats, families gathered around the tree for selfies. Kids were playing peek-a-boo and adults were sharing Christmas stories.
An announcement from the hotel manager gathered everyone’s attention. “Presenting our in-house choir,” he shared, introducing a choir of 15 members. It was then a series of Christmas carols that followed. The voices and karaoke joined together to finish the famous hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful. The performance resulted in loud cheering and excitement from the audience. For the next song, Joy to the World, the audience repeated the chorus in unison. Concluding the carol service by wishing everyone Merry Christmas, KM Chengappa, general manager, lit the tree illuminating the whole courtyard.
Upholding traditions
The hotel which is reminiscent of Chettinad Palace in its architecture celebrated traditions from different parts of the world and created an inclusive Christmas celebration welcoming guests from various countries. “We have changed the location of the tree to the courtyard because according to Chettinad culture, it was where the king used to make announcements and the people used to gather around,” said Ayappan, explaining that they adapt foreign traditions to suit our own practices.
Serving traditional drinks and food including eggnog, mulled wine, cake, chocolate canapés, and savouries, the hotel also gave a peek into the Christmas menu. “All these drinks and dishes have a lot of history. The eggnog is a combination of milk, eggs, sugar, cream, and alcohol. Mulled wine is a wine mixed with spices. They are traditional winter drinks,” explained Ayappan.
Even though Christmas celebrations happen every year at the hotel, the officials and the visitors concurred that this year, everything was specially curated for people to celebrate after the Covid restrictions.
Subhiksha Venkat, a lifestyle blogger shared, “It is heartwarming to see so many people celebrating after Covid. The entire hotel is brimming with joy. On occasions like these, many like-minded people gather, interact, and exchange thoughts. It is nice that they have created something like this for us to socialise,” emphasising that her experience was nothing less than magical.
The event was the first of many festivities lined up for the month. The staff concluded that they will conduct unique celebrations every week for the visitors to have a wholesome experience.