Churches of different denominations in Christian-majority Mizoram celebrated Christmas on Sunday with religious enthusiasm and traditional fervour. This is the first Christmas being celebrated with grandeur in Mizoram after the state witnessed low-key celebrations over the last two years due to the pandemic.
Churches held worship services and congregational singing in the morning to mark the birth of Jesus. Christmas celebrations began on Saturday evening, locally known as 'Urlawk zan'. While some churches, especially in rural areas, held community feasts on Sunday, major churches in the towns will organise such 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 proselytised Mizos follow their own way of celebrations. Chief Minister Zoramthanga greeted the people on the occasion.
The government has banned firecrackers and other fireworks, including toy guns that have bullets, to ensure peaceful and pollution-free celebrations. According to police, there was no law and order problem in the state. For the people of the state, Christmas is a time for helping the needy. Several NGOs, political parties, churches and groups reached out to orphanage homes, rehabs and poor families, giving gifts as well as making donations.
According to historians, the first Christmas in what is now Mizoram was celebrated in 1871. British troops celebrated Christmas that year near the Tuivai river at the present-day Mizoram-Manipur border, and the Mizo warriors attacked them during the celebrations.
