Children from Snehalaya perform at a programme on Christmas. Picture by UB Photos

Dec. 25: Carols and cakes, prayers and fireworks marked Christmas as the city jingled with joy and festivity.

For Minoti Bora, Bordin (Christmas) is the greatest day of the year.

“In Assamese, Christmas is called Bordin, which means a day of great importance. It really is a big day. This is the day when the son of God was born and we celebrate this day for that,” Bora, who came with her children and husband to attend Mass at the Dispur Baptist Church in Christianbasti, said.

Jesse Sangma and her friends were dressed in finery and began their day by visiting the nearest church.

For them Christmas is the day when they meet and sing carols.

All professional singers and their groups love singing in praise of the lord on these days.

“We practised for almost a week. There will be a get-together at my home where our relatives and friends will come,” Sangma said.

In most of the churches in the city, Mass was held from 9 to 11 in the morning.

“Mass at the St Joseph Church at Panbazar started from 9am and was conducted by Father John Moolanchira, co-adjuter archbishop of Guwahati. Around 1,000 people attended Mass in the morning,” Father Thelekkatt, principal of Don Bosco School, said.

However, Christmas was not confined to home and church alone.

People also visited the zoo, parks, resorts and other places across the city to celebrate the day.

“Many people came with their family to the zoo today. The footfall of visitors during Christmas increases every year,” a senior zoo official said.

Yuletide fever gripped people of all ages and groups and inmates of old age homes as well as children of shelter homes celebrated this festival with great enthusiasm.

Greenwood Resort in the city was the place where these young ones and young-at-heart spent their day celebrating the festival with carols and cakes.

In the evening, the sky came alive with colours as fireworks lit up the sky.

As part of the X’mas Jingle Mingle programme organised by the Don Bosco Alumni, Guwahati, the people had a day full of music, games, food and fun.

“X’mas Jingle Mingle had started last year and seeing the great response of people we have organised it in a bigger way this time,” Pradyut Bhuyan, the president of Don Bosco Alumni, Guwahati, said.

The festival did jingle and it had fun rides for children, juke box, DJs that played everyone’s favourite music and not to mention a great food court.

“I came with my brother who is a student of Class IV of Don Bosco School. It’s nice to see so many people and participate in an event,” Seema Jha said.

However, the Christmas festivity was no longer confined to Christians alone.

Sabita Mahaseth may not be a Christian, but when it comes to Christmas, she hops to the church and lights a candle to mark the day.

“I do so because I feel very peaceful doing it. We celebrate all festivals, as these are meant to bring joy and happiness in our lives,” Mahaseth who came to Dispur Baptist Church with her friends to mark the occasion said.

The day was cold, but it was a perfect Christmas for Angana Boro.

“For me, this is the perfect Christmas weather so far. We have only watched in movies that it always snows during Christmas. Here, we might not shovel across a snow-covered lane, but the fog and chill had added a charm to the celebration,” Boro said.