With the midnight mass prayers being sung in unison as Christmas festivities began in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala, the foreign tourists lauded the Indian fervour of the festival on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ.
Locals along with foreigners offered prayers at the Church of St. John in Dharamshala on Christmas.
Speaking to ANI, a Belgian diplomat said, "We are on holiday to Himachal Pradesh and we are very happy to be here with the family. It is a nice place to celebrate Christmas. We are very happy to be able to celebrate Christmas with fellow Christians in this very beautiful old Church."
A student from Poland who has been living in India for the past five years said that he loved everything about the festivities in India.
"We have been celebrating Christmas with family for years, it is quite exotic for me to be in India and celebrate it here. The message of Jesus Christ is about love and compassion. There are many differences between different faiths and religions, but India is just about discovering love. Every single thing is special about this place, the people, the location," he said.
On the other hand, the Churches of Shimla were decorated as a large number of tourists visited the hill town for the celebration.
The Christ Church and St. Michael's Cathedral have been decorated by both Church administrations.
The father and administrator of the St. Michael's Cathedral in Shimla said that due to Covid-19, the prayers were also cut short and arrangements were done for sitting following the social distancing norms and chairs were placed outside the church as well.
The tourists are thrilled to celebrate Christmas in hill resort Shimla with great fervour as they are expecting snowfall on Christmas here.
"I have come from Mumbai. We were earlier in Manali, here we have been staying for two days for now and are celebrating Christmas. We are also waiting for Snowfall here and hope to have a wonderful Christmas. Here people are following Covid protocol and we are wishing that next Christmas this Covid-19 would be over," said a tourist from Mumbai.
The tourists are also rushing to the hills from the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh.
Christmas is celebrated every year on December 25 and marks the birth of Jesus Christ. It is commemorated by the Christian community and others across the globe by singing carols and exchanging gifts, as the festival aims to spread the message of peace and prosperity.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor