Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 24 : The festive spirit is in the air as churches in Srinagar gear up for Christmas celebrations. The city is adorned with twinkling lights, and colourful decorations and the sweet melodies of Christmas carols can be heard echoing through churches.
As part of the preparations for the impending festivities, churches are being decorated with Christmas trees and vivid floral arrangements. The Christmas season offers joy and happiness to the Srinagar community. Families gather in churches to plan for the event. Srinagar's churches are ready to invite everyone to share in the celebrations of this unique time of year.
The father of the church spoke toabout the preparations and said, "We started the celebration on December 1 and now it is almost complete. We get a lot of help from the people in every work of the church. Thousands of devotees come over here for the prayer and Christmas celebration. On this auspicious occasion, I want people all over the world to maintain peace and harmony."
The Christmas celebration is in full swing in the valley. The paper mache artisans of the valley are busy making special balls and other gift items ahead of Christmas.
The festival time always provides joy to the valley's paper mache artisans, who receive large orders of special balls and other gift goods. So, during this time, a maximum number of paper mache artisans are very busy making various items such as special balls, Santa Claus, stars, crescents, bangles, and other gift items that people will be distributing and decorating their homes and churches on the occasion of Christmas.
They are receiving bulk orders from within the country as well as Europe, where people are celebrating the Christmas festival with zeal and using such beautiful paper mache products made by valley artisans on a large scale.
As a result, craftsmen are constantly striving to make their products more appealing to attract overseas buyers. Kashmiri papier-mache products are recognised all over the world for their refinement and durability, and Christian people can decorate their Christmas trees this year with paper-mache balls, stars, Santa Claus, and a variety of elegant items.
Tasaduq Hussain Mir, who is a paper mache artisan, told ANI, "Christmas is the biggest festival in the world and we start getting orders 6 or 7 or 8 months before. We get big orders on Christmas, including balls, bells, stars, Santa Claus and different articles that go to Europe and India, even people in Kashmir like them."
He further talked about craft safaris, an initiative taken by the handicraft and handloom departments for the revival of Kashmir's cultural heritage. He also praised the director of handloom and handicrafts in Kashmir, Mehmood Ahmad Shah, for his initiative and for promoting the art and craft of Kashmir.
"Craft Safari has made us famous around the world. Luckily, Srinagar has been recognised by UNESCO as a creative city, which has led to an increase in the export of our items. This year, about 20 to 25 lakh pieces were exported for Christmas. We have been getting more Christmas orders for the past two or three years and the credit for this goes to Mehmood Ahmad Shah, director of handicrafts and handlooms at Sahab. He has done a lot of work for the artisans, and he has promoted their art craft. We have become famous in the world," he added.
Normally, Kashmiri artisans make paper pache products for tourists and during the peak season of tourism, they do very good business. But on Christmas, they are also getting big orders from foreign countries, where they are sending their products in huge quantities and doing satisfactory business.
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