Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Well, Christmas just came and went, and the citizens of Delhi celebrated it in many different ways. Some went out to party, while others visited a church, and yet others used the festival as a perfect opportunity to hang out with their family and friends.
For Shashank Singh, a law student, Christmas is that time of the year when he bakes a plum cake with his mother. He recalls, “I have loved plum cake ever since childhood, so it has been a tradition where my mother bakes it for me every year. We haven’t skipped the tradition even once. And then, on the evening of Christmas day, my family and I go out for dinner and a nice drive to see what else is going on in the city.”
As Christmas is associated with gifting and giving, a lot of the city’s residents don the Santa hat. For instance, student Nandini Agarwal, says, “I love to help people and I start this with my own society, by giving homemade chocolates to people such as the guards. I know this is not much but at least it brings a smile on someone’s face. I also join my mother in decorating a Christmas tree. Living in a joint family is also a blessing because we play Secret Santa with each other and here I often get lucky and get what I want. This year I got a hamster.”
Yesterday, one could find all the churches in Delhi-NCR decorated with beautiful lights and upon visiting them, people definitely got the Christmas vibe, just like Dipali Sharma did. The Noida resident says, “When December starts I automatically become so excited because first, it’s winter, and second, I love Christmas. Every year my best friend and I go and visit a church. This year was no different. It only gives me happiness and inner peace, plus visiting a church during Christmas evening makes the festival more special.”
However, there are a lot of people who love to just go out and party. Like Raunak Singh, a 22-years-old, who says, “Christmas being a holiday, most of the day I relaxed and had a good sleep and, at night, I went out to party with my close friends.”
