A castle of snow reverberating with the magical peal of bells and guarded by elves and reindeers stands tall. Also awaiting the visitors is a tall tree glistening with snow, lit with twinkling lights, colourful balloons and glittering balls. The splendour of Christmas is back and also back is the season of spreading joy.
The ‘give a gift, spread some cheer' initiative taken by The Hindu Young World, inaugurated at Citi Centre here on Friday, not only showcases the grandeur of Christmas in all its might, but also hopes to spread the spirit of sharing.
The week-long programme invites people, especially children to donate gifts, all of which will be collected and distributed to under-privileged children.
“Christmas is the time we all become kids, making wishes and hoping the season of joy never ends, and perhaps this is the best time to make children realise the value of sharing with others,'' says Rajesh Kuruk, who came with his four year-old son.
While Dhruv Marvada, a six-year-old, would give away anything, except his Spiderman toy and his Alladin books, A. Surya (5) would want to gift pastries and give away the ‘burger teddy' he has.
“A Cinderella doll in a pink frock'' is A. Monisha's (10) perfect idea of making someone happy, while Shivanjali Suresh (6) would stick to gifting colourful flowers.
“Not everybody can afford all gifts, it is the spirit that matters,'' said Anees Fatima (28), mother of a six-year-old.
“Crafting colourful animals out of paper and cloth, packing them and leaving hand-written notes on them, in the anticipation of friends far away opening them, is what excites children,'' she said.
Aruna Vedula (30), mother of Dhruv, said programmes such as this help parents talk to children about the bigger issues in life.
“It is very difficult otherwise to inculcate the spirit of sharing in children though they have things in excesses,'' she added.
Encourage
To encourage people to celebrate the spirit of Christmas, and bring their children to donate gifts, singer Tanvi Shah, national junior squash champion Anakha Alankamony and child artist Nithyashree Venkataraman were present at the event.
Quoting Winston Churchill, Tanvi Shah said “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”
“It is the season of sharing and bringing smiles on faces, everyone should be part of it,'' she added.
Lakshmi Srinath, Director, Kasturi & Sons Ltd was present at the event.
Sponsors
The sponsors were Lotte and Hot Breads and the venue partner is Citi Centre.
