Braving cold, Christians ring in festivities at Medak Church

Medak: The Christian devotees, who came to take part in the festivities at Medak Church, braved the cold of Thursday night by sleeping in the open-air, as all the halls meant to accommodate them were full by the evening itself.

Anticipating the huge rush for the early morning prayers on Christmas, thousands of people from across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other States reached the church on Thursday evening itself.

Many of the devotees couldn’t even find place to sleep in the already congested halls. As if they knew the situation would arise, many of them got their blankets and mats, while many didn’t. People took to sleeping all over the place, on sidewalks, under the trees, on the road and every possible place. No tents were erected for the devotees keeping in mind the winter season.

Babies could be heard crying due to the cold weather all night. People who couldn’t sleep gathered sticks, hay, paper, anything which could make fire and gathered around these bonfires all night long until 4 am in the morning, when the church was opened. As the church bells rang, the devotees quickly took bath in the chilly weather. Cashing in on the plight of devotees, some priced the hot water at Rs 20 per bucket.

The morning prayers started on a musical note and the holy rituals were performed, as the pastor brought in the holy cross into the cathedral. The pastors gave their addresses quoting excerpts from the bible in Telugu language. Soon, the people forgot their chilly ordeal and started grooving to the melodious devotional songs played by the choir.

After the prayers ended, devotees started lighting candles outside the cathedral, near a holy cross. There was another prayer service which started at around 9.30 am which continued till noon. Then the devotees were blessed and counselled by the pastors for the rest of the evening. Overall, it was a chilly merry Christmas indeed.