RAWALPINDI:Christmas, the grand festival of Christian community, was celebrated here on Sunday with traditional services at churches amid prayers for peace, exchange of gifts, cake cutting ceremonies, depicting traditional zeal and enthusiasm amid tight security arrangements.
The city churches, particularly Catholic Church, Lalkurti, Protestant Church, Mall Road, Saddar, and Catholic Church at Christian Colony, homes, and markets were decorated with lights while children and youngsters were visiting parks, playgrounds, churches, and their religious places.
The festivities of Christmas were started with prayers and other rituals in the churches and family reunions were the hallmark of the special occasion.
Rawalpindi District Police finalized the elaborate security arrangements on the eve of Christmas.
According to a Police spokesman, 3,200 police personnel were deployed in the city and special deployment was ensured at churches and public places to avoid any untoward incident.
“No one was allowed to park vehicle near churches. Walk-through gates were installed at the entrance of the churches and the visitors were checked through metal detectors,” he added.
Regional Police Officer, Rawalpindi Region, Nasir Mehmood Satti, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Shoaib Ali and City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Syed Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari visited churches in Cantt and city areas to review the security arrangements.
They also cut Christmas cakes and congratulated the Christian community on Christmas.
The festival of Christian community is marked through different activities ranging from big official gatherings to cake cutting ceremonies at the level of small communities, illuminating houses and observing prayers in Churches.
Special cake cutting ceremonies were arranged at different departments including Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, Police Lines, WASA and others before the day to share the happiness of the festival with the Christian staff members and acknowledge their contributions.
The main attractions of the Christmas festival included the traditions like Christmas Tree, Santa Clause, Carols and Christmas gifts which add charm to the festivity.
The other festivities of the Christmas day included distribution of gifts among children, singing hymns, prayers and family gatherings.
The main ritual of the Christmas celebration is the decoration of the Christmas tree to welcome the arrival of Santa Claus also known as Father Christmas.
The district administration on the directives of DC had finalized all the arrangements including security to facilitate the Christian community on Christmas.
City Traffic Police had also finalized a traffic plan for Christmas while over 300 traffic wardens and officers were deployed on city roads to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Six special squads were formed to control one-wheeling.
Archbishop of Rawalpindi/Islamabad Dr. Joseph Arshad, while talking to reporter, said that the Christmas event symbolized a significant truth of spiritual life, adding that the Prophet Jesus (AS) was born at a time when ignorance, superstition, greed, hatred, and hypocrisy prevailed upon the land.
Congratulating the Christian community on Christmas, Archbishop urged the Christians to follow and promote the teachings of Christ for peace, tranquility, and security and renew their pledge to play a role in the development and prosperity of the beloved homeland.
He said that the Christian minority community worships freely at Churches with full unity and security.
He also thanked the government, including the district administration, for making all the arrangements including foolproof security at the Churches in Twin Cities’ churches for Christmas.
Archbishop’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and others while talking to reporter said that the Christmas was celebrated here like other parts of the country in a befitting manner.
Sarfraz Francis said, “On this happy day, I wish to acknowledge the diverse and productive role being played by all the minorities living in Pakistan; particularly the Christian community for the socio-economic development of the country in general and in the fields of health and education in particular.”
A number of shopping malls and hotels in twin cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad had placed decked Christmas trees to attract the visitors, especially children.
The Christmas tree is usually decked with different ornaments including baubles, small bells painted gold or silver, stars of different shapes and sizes, pine cones, apples, candies, tinsel and balloons made from glass, metal, wood and ceramic.
A number of stalls were set up particularly in such localities where the majority of Christian community resides.
The stalls’ owners displayed a variety of decorative ornaments as well as the dress of Santa Claus which was the source of attraction for the youngsters and children. Different brands and eateries in the town offered good discounts on the occasion of Christmas to attract more customers.