Christmas in Calcutta
Christmas in Calcutta


Calcutta the earlier name of Kolkata is the city where many festivals are celebrated with great gusto and fervour.
Christmas in the month of December in Kolkata is one major festival celebrated.
The celebrations begin a week before Christmas, 25th December, and continues till the new year in early January.
Now a days a carnival is held during this period. Themed lighting decorates streets and street side buildings.
The streets are also decked up with Christmas trees of all sizes and they are decorated with dazzling lights.
From Park Street the decorations start and continue to two to three kilometres in each cardinal direction.
The lighting decorations are designed by World famous artisans from Chandannagar a suburb outside Kolkata.
The streets are also decked up with sound systems. Christmas carols are played to the merriment of children and their families.
Bands play popular t
unes in between entertaining the general public.
Various choir groups from local churches perform on road side stage built temporarily for the Christmas occasion. They sing many melodious carol hailing the birth of little Jesus.
A grand Christmas parade takes place with school children from local schools participating amidst the cheering from the crowd and onlookers.
Earlier in the day on Christmas, Christians throng to the churches for special Christmas Mass service.
Even on the previous evening that is on Christmas Eve prayer gatherings are arranged in the church for the faithful to participate.
Local bakeries and their sale counters are overflowing with Christmas cakes of various taste and delicacy and other bakery products . People of all faiths crowd these stores to buy these delicacies over the counters.
This season is also a big business time and traders do quick business to earn some quick buck.