​Indore: C​hristmas celebrations to be muted this year, thanks to corona

Indore:

C​ovid-19 has impacted all the festivals this year and in Indore specifically looking at the ​rising number of ​cases it seems that it will affect festivals next year also. Playing the responsible role towards the society the Christian community of Indore has decided to celebrate the Birthday of Jesus Christ with simplicity.

Bishop Chacko said that this year there will be Christmas Carol only in the church​, and they won't go from house to house, which is the practice every year. Instead of overnight worship, there will ​only ​be Holy Mass and Prayer from 5 to 7 pm.

He said that every year, on the night of 24 December, the birth of Lord Jesus is celebrated in the churches, but this time ​it will be celebrated ​between 5 and 7 pm on the evening of December 24. Nine Catholic churches will have the Holy Mass and prayers. Worship will be done on December 25 also.

Stickers ​have been placed on the bench​es in the church​ to take care of social distancing. ​S​aniti​s​er machines have been installed at many places on the church premises. Masks will be mandatory for all and fewer amount of people will be allowed inside the church premises, he added.

According to K Father Biju Mathew, ​c​arols will be sung on a small scale in churches. All will greet each other through social media. Those over 65 years and below 10 years of age have been requested not to come to the churches.

Along with the expansion of the city to date, there are nine Catholic churches in the city with a population of around.15,000 and three Protestant churches.