NONYA LIFE: Christmas - A Universal Celebration

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas - A Universal Celebration

"O Star of wonder, star of night,

Star of royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to Thy perfect light."

Yes, Christmas hymns and carols are still buzzing through my head!

This year, Christmas has been quite eventful for us. Things began happening on Christmas Eve when a friend invited us to join the midnight mass at his church, The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pulau Tikus. It must have been some thirty years since we stepped into that church and although the mass started only at 10.30 p.m., the church was packed by ten.

Incidentally, the Church is celebrating its Bicentennial this year. A big "200" had been put up in front of the church together with a lighted Christmas tree. The fence encircling the compound had also been lit up with thousands of tiny bulbs. It was a very pretty picture as you can see from the snap below.

Inside the church, there was also a very well done Nativity scene (below)

and many people were busy taking photos.

Just before the mass proper began, the church choir started singing hymns and carols. They delivered their songs very well and the congregation was able to join in as the lyrics were flashed on two big screens on each side of the altar.

The choir is seated in the balcony (above left)

When the mass began, I was reminded of my school days at the Convent when we used to recite a string of prayers at the small chapel of the school but of course, the prayers now are unfamiliar to me.

The whole service was very well conducted and ended at around 11.45 p.m. with people wishing each other "Merry Christmas". There was much hand shaking and hugs as friends, relatives and even strangers greeted each other happily. The air was alive with the universal message of Christmas - giving and forgiving, caring and sharing.

There was a light drizzle when we left the church. Hopefully it was a form of blessing for everyone!

Christmas morning saw us up early for prayers at our Sai centre.

The altar had been beautifully decorated and balloons festooned the walls and ceiling. We sang a repertoire of Christmas carols and devotional songs which concluded with the appearance of "Santa Claus" with his bag of goodies for both young and old.