Preparations in full swing ahead of X'Mas

With festive fervor in the air ahead of Christmas, preparations are in full swing in various pockets of the country, ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Monday.

Celebratory instincts, in case of Christmas, are not just among Christians, but for society at large. The prime message, as the saying goes, is to bring peace and prosperity, irrespective of one's religion.

On Christmas Eve, people across various states are gearing up to celebrate the Pagan holiday.

In Guwahati, churches are being decked up with cribs consisting of sculptures of Joseph, Mary and a number of others, while the buildings are lit up with strings of multi-coloured fairy lights. Further, church groups are also conducting enactment of scenes from the life of Jesus Christ.

Special lighting arrangements have also been made in malls and other public areas, with a large decorated Christmas tree in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, students of a primary school in Bhopal were seen participating in a Christmas special session, where they dressed up as Santa Claus and took part in a fashion show. The little ones were also seen merrily dancing to the tune of a number of Christmas carols.

On the other hand, a choir singing carols took the streets of Mumbai and gathered at Carter Road in Bandra to hold a peaceful protest against the growing incidents of violence against minorities in India.

Down South, in Coimbatore, Raja, a local miniature artist, designed a Christmas tree by melting candles and decorated it with pearls and glittering stones.

"For every occasion, I design miniature art models and I'm doing the same for Christmas. I used waste candles to design the miniature candle Christmas tree," Raja told ANI.

Furthermore, a private hotel here erected a 63-feet-tall steel Christmas tree using 1.2 tons of steel, built by 30 workmen over a span of seven days. Every level of the tree has been decorated with accessories like stars, Santa caps, gift boxes, bells, snowmen and glittering balls.

Markets in various parts of India have also begun selling Christmas-related decor, such as cut outs of Santa Claus, Christmas stars of various sizes and colour variants, fairy lights and so on.

While traders say the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was expected to hamper sales, the numbers show that the impact was only marginal, and sales continue to bloom.