Bhubaneswar, Dec 25: Christians across the State celebrated Christmas festival on Friday in tastefully decorated churches, including the ones in the State Capital Bhubaneswar.
Christian households decorated their houses putting dazzling Christmas trees and Santaclauses besides preparing mouth watering cakes, pancakes and pastries.
Pastry shops, bakeries and sweet shops did brisk business on the Christmas eve and shopkeepers had hectic work to satisfy the last minute rush of customers.
Cakes, pastries, Odia delicacy Arisha peetha and rose cakes were in high demand at the bakery shops in the twin city also the garment shops.
Christmas trees this year appear to have got taller and wider with new styles of decorations and sold as costly as at Rs 800 to Rs 1400.
A nearly three feet tall costs as high as Rs 1400 in the capital market and stalls specially set up by vendors for Christmas and New Year.
Midnight masses were held in the Catholic Church and Baptist church in the State capital which were decorated with miniature lights and had tableaux depicting the glory of Lord Jesus. The churches reverberated with Christmas carol as devout Christian ushered in the birth day of the lord. Hotels across the Twin City have arranged entertainment programmes to celebrate the Day.
The lobbies of the leading hotels have been decorated beautifully.Police made elaborate arrangement to ensure peaceful celebration and curb drunken driving during the festivities.
With this the New Year celebrations of the people of the State began with many planning picnic trips and visiting holy shrines to seek the blessings for a new and prosperous 2016.
