A festive spirit gripped Prakasam district as the Christian community geared up to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, albeit under restrictions due to COVID-19.
This is the first major festival celebrated by the community members in a big way as big social gatherings were absent during Good Friday and Easter in view of the pandemic in the earlier part of this year.
Churches across Prakasam district, including the over a century-old Jewett Memorial Baptist Church, have been given a facelift ahead of Christmas.
Acceding to pleas from community elders, Prakasam District Collector Pola Bhaskar allowed celebrations at JMB Church, considered the mother of all Baptist churches in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, on the condition that all COVID-19 precautionary measures are strictly adhered to.
“We have scaled down celebrations this year without compromising on the rituals,” Fr. Illuri Iradayaraj of St. Therese Roman Catholic Church told The Hindu. Elders have been asked not to come for the midnight mass in view of the pandemic, he said while overseeing arrangements for the celebrations.
Street corners were decorated with colourful stars while homes were brightly illuminated and decked up.
A fresh coat of painting was given to the bust of American missionary John Everett Clough, who had carried out missionary activities in these parts in the 19th century. The holy precincts of the over 150-odd denomination of churches were thoroughly cleaned with sanitisers. The duration of the prayers has been curtailed in view of the pandemic, community elders said.
The month-long celebrations reached a peak with the faithful singing carols in churches.
People thronged shops on the arterial Trunk Road and Kurnool road to make big purchases taking advantage of the discounts offered by the shopkeepers on the eve of the festival.