Hello
everyone! Today I decided to learn about a place I didn't know had
Christmas traditions! Today we learn about Pakistan! December 25th
is a public holiday in Pakistan but it's for a different reason than
Christmas. It's for the birthday of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
This is another country where Christians make up a very small part of
the country. But Pakistan has over 162 million people, so there are
still about 5 million Christians. Most of the Christians live quiet
poorly in the countryside.
In
Lahore, at the St. Anthony's Church, there is a big procession to the
church . People walking to the church for services will take hours to
get there. The Pakistani Christians are very enthuiastic about the
service. During Advent there are spiritual seminars that help the
people get ready for Christmas. Christmas is called Bara Din, meaning
Big Day in Urdu and Punjabi.
In
many of the Chirstian areas, during the last week of Advent, there
are a lot of carols sung. The groups go from one home to another and
sing, the families who are home offere something in return for the
songs. Usually this is money collected for charitity or the church.
Churches
are filled to bursting on Christmas Eve for the Midnight Mass. Choirs
sing hymns and in some places following the solemn ceremony there
are fireworks! On that evening, people dance and exchange their
gifts. Santa Claus is called Christmas Baba in Pakistan! I like this
term for him quite a lot!
On
Bara Din, the Christians go back to church for that day's services.
The people dress in their most beautiful and colorful clothes. The
church courtyard is used for soicalizing following the service. Where
people will get food from stalls and enjoy the atmosphere. On the
evening of Bara Din, the people spend it with there families and
usually have good food.
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