Christmas brings festive mood to twin cities

Rawalpindi : Under tight security arrangements, the Christian community in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad will celebrate Christmas with full zeal and fervour today (Sunday).

The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) will provide facilities round the clock on Christmas day. The management of Metro Bus Authority (MBA) has decorated all metro stations with balloons and Christmas trees.

The Christmas services would be held in all Catholic and Protestant churches where priests would deliver sermons. The Christian community has decorated Christmas trees in their homes where children enjoying to see them and anxiously wait for Christmas to open gifts.

Christmas cakes were also cut at different places including Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR), Dhoke Syedan, Christian Colony, Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB), and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) by the Muslims to show solidarity and brotherhood with the Christian community.

Big gatherings of the Christian community would be held at the Cathedral Church, Lalkurti; Protestant Church at Mall Road; Saint Anthony Church in Satellite Town; Saint Joseph’s Cathedral Church in Dhoke Syedan, Cathedral Church Chakra, Cathedral Church Hanif Colony and Saint Mary’s Church in Sher Zaman Colony. The Christians would start their special prayers in Cathedral Churches at about 12:00 midnight, while in Protestant Churches at about 11:00 p.m.

Deputy Commissioner (DC), Rawalpindi Shoaib Ali has given special instructions to all departments to provide maximum facilities for the Christian community on this special occasion. He has also directed all public and private parks to sell tickets at cheaper prices for Christian people.

Cart pushers and vendors will not be allowed to sell their items like children's balloons, toys, chat, etc. in front of churches.

Special fares would also be held outside major churches where people would enjoy every bit of the event. Special Christmas trees have been installed in major city hotels to attract Christians. Special prayers would be offered for the progress and prosperity of the country on the occasion.

Talking to ‘The News’, members of the Christian community stressed the need for making sincere efforts for brotherhood and harmony in society. They were happy on this special occasion and stressed the need for love for each other in this time of trial.

The Christian community members said that religion was a matter of the heart not of observances, adding that Christmas would not be special without all that is associated with it. But one would be at a loss if one goes through the festivities of Christmas without its central and significant message and that too for today’s world. They stressed that Christians follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ in letter and spirit by spreading love and peace in the world. They also extended his felicitations for a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The concerned management has made special management in all public parks here in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad like Jinnah Park, Ayub National Park, Roomi Park, Shah Baloot Park, Nawaz Sharif Park, F-9 Park, etc. The management has cleaned parks. They have repaired all the broken swings for the special occasion.