very year, the Christian community based in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi celebrates Christmas with great enthusiasm. This year too, preparations for the festival are in full swing with the community hosting a number of events and activities in days leading up to it.

In France Colony, one of the many Christian localities in the capital, shopping began over a week ago. Demand for Christmas tree and decorative trinkets also surged noticeably.

“In France Colony, people love to celebrate Christmas,” said Yousaf Masih, a resident. “We decorate the streets, the bazaar is crowded and food stalls are set up every year,” he said.

“Charni, a decorative stall similar to Pahari set up by Muslims on the birth anniversary of Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is decorated with statues of Christ, paintings and other ornaments,” says Masih.

“Christmas is our special day. It is a day to celebrate. We begin decorating churches, houses and streets weeks in advance. We also set up food stalls and make our favourite delicacies. There is also a choir that sings the hymns. In schools, excited children perform in tableaus and skits to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ,” said another resident, Tariq Sardar.

As Christmas approached, the streets were full of colours and entire neighbourhoods lit up. The churches in the capital were decorated with lights and Christmas wreaths. Christians set up Christmas trees and dressed up as Santa Claus to the delight of little children. The main markets and shops of the capital city also displayed a variety of Christmas-related accessories to attract the community.

The diplomatic corps too observed this day with great zeal and zest, lighting up their places and setting up special markets and bazaars to mark Christmas. Among the popular ones is a special Christmas bazaar set up by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany almost every year which always turns into an extravaganza.

This year the German Christmas market showcased a variety of things including homemade cakes and cookies meticulously crafted to capture the essence of German holiday traditions., However, many local Christians said they could not afford anything because of the price hike.

“The celebrations in many low-income localities are not up to the traditional level because of inflation,” said Harrison, a boy manning a stall selling trinkets for the Christmas tree. “I don’t mean to say that people are not celebrating at all. They are, and they are buying items, especially for their children. But the footfall in the markets has dropped compared to last year because of inflation,” he said.

The author is a staff reporter. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com