Many devout Christians said this Christmas would be about caring and giving to the victims. Unlike the previous years, this time, a mild yuletide air envelopes the hill district and some Christian pockets of Imphal valley.
Pastor of Tangkhul Baptist Church Rev Khayaipam Khamrang said that this year, Christmas will be different. “While there will be community celebrations during our service on the evening of the 24th and 25th morning, we have encouraged and requested our members not to indulge in lavish spending and grand feasting, instead they can use their resources to help those who are marginalised in the current crisis and those in need,” he added.
“With this, they hope that celebrating Christmas this year will be about sharing, caring about others and less about ourselves, all in the name of Jesus Christ,” he added.
The strife has also hit the X-Mas gift outlet dealers in Imphal as one of them said, “We used to do a brink sale during Christmas but this year we could see only 25% of what we sold last year. I hope the situation will improve soon.”
Extending its Christmas greetings, the Manipur Naga Youth Organisation (MYNO) expressed heartfelt wishes for peace among the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Emphasising unity, the MYNO urged everyone to build bridges of friendship, fostering harmony across Manipur’s diverse cultures. A few days back, the All Manipur Christian Organization had called upon heads of denominational churches and Christians to celebrate the Christmas in a low-key manner in the spirit of peace, forgiveness, love and unity. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a tribal body in Manipur, also issued an advisory recently ahead of Christmas and asked people not to indulge in overtly conspicuous celebrations and other forms of enjoyment.
