It was nearing midnight on Sunday when children along with the elders in their best attire walked towards the churches that welcomed them with bright decorative lights in the coastal town.
On their visit to Puducherry for varied reasons, foreign tourists thronged the Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges (Church of Our Lady of Angels) on Dumas Street to offer prayers and celebrate the birth of Christ.
Away from their native land, they were at the midnight mass lest they missed out on the important part of Christmas celebrations. Anna Schuetz from Germany, who is volunteering for a non-governmental organisation in Villupuram, was delighted to attend the midnight mass.
She said: “I am a practising Catholic Christian. The practices and rituals here are not very different from the catholic churches back home. But, the mass was held in three languages in English, Tamil and French. It is something unique to this place,” she said.
Daisy, who is also from Germany, was in Puducherry to celebrate Christmas with her husband.
“We are on vacation. I am a Protestant and it was fascinating to watch how unique the midnight service was observed here. The rituals are different and we need to be patient to listen to the two and half hours mass. We thoroughly enjoyed it and stayed till the midnight prayer was over,” she said.
Alice from France, a self-professed non-practising Christian, was also seen sitting inside the church and observing people offering prayers. “I am visiting Puducherry for vacation and staying at Auroville. I have come here to watch the Christmas celebrations,” she said.
Special rituals
The extended weekend pulled people from different states to Puducherry as the streets were chock-a-block with tourists cheering in the Christmas season. The singing of carols preceded the midnight mass from 11 a.m. Devotees sang Christmas carols and rejoiced watching Infant Jesus being taken to the crib with the special rituals.
Gerard Henderson from Puducherry eagerly talked about the Anglo Indian Association’s Christmas celebration that is going to bring together the community members from Puducherry and Villupuram districts for a dance show in Villupuram on Tuesday night.
Chief Minister V.Narayanasamy visited the churches in Nellithope and Mission Street at midnight and former Chief Minister N.Rangasamy joined the Christmas celebrations in Thattanchavady St Fatima Church.
Like every year, the restaurants and bakeries had displayed their special rich plum cakes, fruit cakes, gallete pieces and Santa Claus marzipans.
