Hundreds of stars light up Nuvem

Panaji: ‘Christmas begins when one lands in Nuvem’ is the feedback that the faithful from the village have been receiving ever since they decorated their highway with Christmas stars last month. The highway will remain lit till at least January 8.
Parishioners of the Nuvem church got together to light up their highway spanning little under 2km across nine wards. For the decor they put up hundreds of stars, some hand-made and others ready-made but in large numbers.They were forced to start from scratch this year after unexpected rains last Christmas ruined all their stars.
“We like to put up the stars at the beginning of Advent but last Christmas our stars were destroyed during unprecedented rains mid-ecember. This year we waited for the weather forecast and only then went ahead,” moderator of the parish pastoral council (PPC) Dr Francisco Xavier Pereira of Jesus Maria Jose Church, told TOI.
Everyone from children to senior citizens have been involved in the making and installing the stars pitching in whatever way they could, from holding the ladder to fixing poles to hold up the stars. “We ensured there was no obstruction to the traffic and didn’t hang any stars over the highway,” Pereira said.
Faithful from all of Nuvem’s 22 wards including PPC members and soumudai (community) members contributed to make the grand spectacle this year. Many of the village’s internal roads too were lit up with equal gusto. The pandal outside the church where Christmas services are held has been exclusively adorned with hand-made stars crafted by each ward.
“At a PPC meeting around seven years ago it was decided to light up wards and the highway to put people into the festive mood and this has continued ever since. We took a break for one year during the pandemic. Our parish priest Victor Rodrigues has been supporting the initiative,” Pereira said.
The hand-made stars can hardly be reused and must be made afresh every year with some getting torn apart with the wind and others discoloured. “People have told us that no sooner they reach Nuvem, they begin to feel the Christmas spirit. This brings us joy,” Pereira said.