A beautifully lit-up Christmas Tree at Santhome Cathedral Basilica, or St Thomas Cathedral Basilica National Shrine, Chennai, glows with the joy of Christmas season. Photo: Karunakaran
Twinkling lights, trees hung with stars and bells, cribs near the altar or by the entrance… churches across India have been dressing up for Christmas for days. On the eve of the celebration, with hours to go for the midnight service that will ring in the festivities, a dazzling photo album that captures this mood of joy and anticipation — from the Northeast to Chennai, Kolkata to Kerala.
The Nativity display at New Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral. Designed by architect Henry Medd, the foundation stone for the Cathedral had been laid in 1929 and work on it started in 1930. It took five years to complete it and the Cathedral was blessed in December 1935 by the Papal Internuncio, His Excellency Right Reverend Leo Kierkels. Photo: Ramrajan V
The glow of the many candles lit at Our Lady of Health Shrine of Vilankanni, New Delhi, is brighter than that of the lit-up Christmas Tree. The origin story of the Shrine, the first of which was built in Tamil Nadu’s Vilankanni dates back to the sixteenth century, when it is said ‘Our Lady’ with her infant son appeared to first to a Hindu boy carrying milk to a disabled boy selling buttermilk, whom she cured. The Delhi Shrine was reportedly established sometime in the 1950s. Photo: Lokesh
The Nativity display at St Paul’s Cathedral, Kolkata, one of the city’s most iconic churches, where the midnight service on the intervening night of December 24-25 draws crowds of Christians and non-Christians alike. The foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid in 1839 and it was consecrated in 1847. The cathedral clock was made by London’s famous Vulliamy’s and is similar to the one at Christ Church, Oxford and Queen Victoria is said to have presented 10 pieces of silver-gilt plate for it in 1845. Photo: Jayanta Shaw
Kolkata’s Greek Orthodox Church being readied for Christmas. The Church which celebrated its centenary last year, had been reportedly shut down in the ‘70s owing to the decline in the Greek population in the city, but was reopened in 1991. Photo: Jayanta Shaw
Christmas lights at Kolkata’s Old Mission Church, the oldest Protestant church in the city, consecrated in 1770. Reportedly, the church had drawn attention in 1899, when it acquired electric lights and fans, the first Church in Bengal to do so. Photo: Jayanta Shaw
St. Mary's Basilica in Bengaluru’s Shivajinaga̧r, consecrated in 1882. The church has a six-feet high statue of Mother May holding Child Jesus in her arms just outside the church building, which is draped in a sari everyday. The church website mentions a popular narrative about the statue. It is said that in 1875, people had tried to remove the statue from its position to install it inside, but it couldn’t be moved. Photo: Raghu RD
St. George's Syro-Malabar Church, Edappally. The church was reportedly a small structure when it was built in 594 AD. But as the congregation grew, a bigger church was built in 1080 AD. The church website claims it to be “Asia’s largest shrine to Saint George”. Photo: By special arrangement.
Guwahati Baptist Church, Panbaxar. Said to be one of the oldest churches in the state, it was established in January 1845. Photo: Sandeep Sharma
The Nativity display at Don Bosco Church, Panbaxar, Guwahati. In 1922, the then state of Assam was entrusted to the Salesians of Don Bosco, a congregation within the Catholic Church, founded by Italian priest John Bosco in 1859. Photo: Sandeep Sharma
Christmas cheer at the Dimapur Sumi Baptist Church in Nagaland, established in March 1985. Photo: Dilip Sharma
The Thahekhu Baptist C, Dimapur, Nagaland, enjoy social media mention for its ‘must see’ Christmas decor. Photo: Dilip Sharma
Hyderabad’s Millennium Methodist Church lit up for the festive season. The church is known for its beautiful Christmas and Easter celebrations, put up by the youth. Photo: Kiran Kumar
The Centenary Baptist Church in Secunderabad, Hyderabad, which is more than 100 years old. Photo: Kiran Kumar
Nativity display at Secunderabad’s CSI Wesley Church Secunderabad, built in 1853. Photo: Kiran Kumar
The CSI Emmanuel Church, in Chennai’s Anna Nagar. Photo: Karunakaran
Santhome Cathedral Basilica, or St Thomas Cathedral Basilica National Shrine, Chennai. According to the church’s website, it has been mentioned in the journal of Italian traveller Marco Polo. It was rebuilt by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. The present structure was built in the last decade of the nineteenth century, with the tomb of St Thomas at its heart. Photo: Karunakaran