Christian-dominated Mizoram celebrates Christmas with devotion

Aizawl: Christmas was celebrated with religious fervor and traditional fervor in all parts of Mizoram to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

All the churches of different Christian denominations hold special church services and congregational singing or service called ‘zaikhawm’ to celebrate this day.
Similar church services will be held in the evening and at night in zaikhawm.
The Christmas celebration started on Sunday evening locally known as “Urlawk zan” during which worship service, dedication of Christmas halls and congregational singing were held.
The grand celebration was held on Monday because December 25 is usually considered the main event of the celebration and is dedicated to worship during which the church service, the sermon on the birth of Jesus and mass churchesby held singing.
Community feasts, an integral part of Christmas celebrations, will be held on Tuesday 26 (December) by most churches, including the Mizoram Presbyterian Church, while some churches in towns and rural areas will hold mass feasts on Monday.

In Mizoram, which celebrated the centenary of the arrival of Christianity back in 1994, Christmas is a blend of religious and traditional fervor.

Notwithstanding an English way of celebration, the proselytized Mizos follow their way of celebrating Christmas in tune with their historic traditions.

The government has banned firecrackers and other fireworks to ensure peaceful and pollution-free celebrations.

According to police, there was no law and order problem across the state on Monday.

For the Mizos, Christmas is a time for helping the needy.

Several NGOs, political parties, churches and groups have reached out to orphanage homes, rehabs and to poor families and donated charity both in cash and kind since pre-Christmas.

Historians recorded that the first Christmas on Mizoram soil was celebrated back in 1871, not by the Mizos but by the invading colonial British troops near the Tuivai river on the present Mizoram-Manipur border and the Mizo warriors attacked the soldiers during celebrations.