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Christmas like Eid in Kashmir as Christians express solidarity with Muslims
1-10-2017
Christmas in Kashmir was on Sunday celebrated with austerity in wake of the civilian killings during the recent summer uprising in the region.
In his Christmas message Father Roy Mathew, parish priest at Holy Family Catholic Church at MA Road here, said that the Christian community of Kashmir shares the pain of Muslim brethren of Kashmir. He led the special prayers on the occasion.
“We are with them (Kashmiri Muslims) in their pain. We will offer prayers but there will be no celebrations,” Mathews said in his Christmas message delivered this morning.
December 25 marks the annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and is celebrated across the world as Christmas. A one-hour-long prayer was held from at 11 am at the church in the heart of summer capital Srinagar.
Reports said that last year around 250 people attended the prayers but today the attendance was not more than 150. This is the second time in last three years that Christian community celebrated the festival with austerity.
In 2014 the community celebrated a simple Christmas after a devastating flood killed more than 450 people and affected millions others.
As expected the day started with special prayers at churches while main prayers were held at Saint Luke’s Church and All Saints’ Church in the summer capital city Srinagar, Saint Joseph’s Church in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district—the oldest Catholic Church in State—and at a Church at tourist resort of Gulmarg.
Similar prayers meetings were also held in parts of the winter capital Jammu as well.
Sharing the views of the community Catholic catechist Shami Joseph told Greater Kashmir that in view of the current situation the community cancelled the carol singing and parade on this Christmas as a mark of respect and solidarity with Kashmiri Muslim brethren who suffered a lot in the current uprising.
“We did not even sing Christmas carol; no Santa Claus, but held special prayers only in which we remembered the pain of our Muslim brethren,” Joseph said.
Usually the Christmas festivities include distributing gifts, toys and candies among children; singing hymns and attending Mass. But this Christmas it remained a low key affair in wake of recent civilian killings.
“They (Kashmiri Muslims) did not celebrate Eid (Adha) this year; how could we celebrate Christmas then?” he added.
The Christmas celebrations remained a low key affair at Holy Family Catholic Church here which had very ordinary decorations. The decorations were limited to the interiors of all the churches in Kashmir as a mark of respect and solidarity by Christian community with Kashmiri Muslims. According to Census-2011 out of total 35,631 Christian population of state, Kashmir has 11, 857 Christian members.
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