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Low-key Christmas sails through pandemic’s silent night; Cardinal delivers strong social justice message
View(s):It was indeed a silent night with crackers lighted here and there as the country’s Christian community sought safety and joy inside their homes as they celebrated the holy night amidst a pandemic.
Conspicuous by their absence were large-scale Christmas street decorations, outdoor parties, gala dinners and big family get-togethers this year. Yet in Colombo and suburbs, a few commercial establishments continued with their annual lighting up for the season — but on a low key.
Devotees attendig the Christmas mass at St. Sebastian's Church in Kandana, maintaining the physical distance. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith conducted the mass. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara and Lhiru Harshana
Church mass was not held in lockdown areas while in other areas, only 50 persons were allowed at a time to attend the services. Worshippers were required to wear facemasks and maintain the minimum one-metre distance during the mass.
Churches that came under attack on Easter Sunday last year saw a large security presence while in other churches, too, armed police officers wearing personal protective gear not only provided security but also ensured that worshippers followed health guidelines.
Colombo's Main Street: Shoppers were few and far between
This year’s Christmas saw many families resorting to online facilities – be it ordering gifts or exchanging pleasantries and greetings with relatives, neighbours and friends.
Many shopping malls did not see the usual crowd while toy store owners said they had only a few customers, but they too preferred not to bring children along with them.
Delivering the Christmas mass from St. Sebastian’s Church in Kandana, Colombo’s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith made several references to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Political leadership should come together at troubled times instead of arguing and blaming each other. All Sri Lankans should be determined to overcome the pandemic keeping aside our differences,” the Archbishop said.
Highlighting the need to find the source of the pandemic, he said the pharmaceutical industry was one of the most corrupt industries, and driven by greed, they were introducing infections, spreading them among humans so that their medicinal drugs could be promoted and sold as a cure for the illnesses.
On climate change, the Archbishop stressed the need to protect the forests and issued a warning. “Environment pollution is rampant. forests that give us oxygen are destroyed. In a few hundred years our great-grandchildren will have to carry an oxygen tank wherever they go, similar to us wearing facemasks now.”
Low key Christmas decoration in Colombo
With jobs and income losses, salary and bonus cuts, many people were left with a limited budget to celebrate Christmas. For most families with elderly and high risk groups, this year’s Christmas was strictly a home-only celebration.
The Peliyagoda COViD cluster was a big blow to the fishing communities in Negombo and western the coastal belt where people were known to celebrate the birth of Christ merrily with outdoor get-togethers.
With no foreign tourists, most hotels down the coastal belt saw a low-key Christmas, while city hotels too saw few crowds. Some major hotels in Colombo and outstations are being used as quarantine centres for those arriving from overseas.