Hyderabad showered with blessings on Christmas

As Christmas is being celebrated with fervour and gaiety across the world and India, celebrations are witnessed in Hyderabad as well.

The churches of the city have been decorated and thousands of people visited the holy places to celebrate the Pagan holiday.

Speaking to ANI, Ganapathi, a devotee said, "I have been coming to the church since my childhood. Jesus has been with me all the time -even in the worst stages of my life. Christmas is celebrated grandly all over the city."

Another devotee, Vijay, said, "Christmas is a festival of giving. We give gifts, clothes and many other things to each other. It is not mandatory to give gifts as we can even share a word with each other."

Vinay, a local, said people invite friends to their homes on this occasion and different types of dishes are prepared.

"We then come to church and pray to the lord to fulfill all our dreams," he added.

His brother Anil told ANI: "We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ. It's a symbolic meaning that Christ Jesus being a Holy One, put himself at the level of a normal human being to save people from their sins. People put star at the top of the Christmas tree because it was the star which showed way to the three kings where the Christ was born."

Markets have also witnessed the sale of a number of Christmas-related decors, including Christmas trees, bells, cutouts of Santa Claus, stars and fairy lights.