(ANS – New Delhi) – Holy Child Auxilium, Vasant Vihar, and Holy Child Auxilium, R.K. Puram, are two schools the FMA Sisters are running in New Delhi. These highly appreciated schools in the Indian Capital city celebrated Christmas in unique ways this year with their students.

Holy Child Auxilium, Vasant Vihar celebrated it on 20 and 21 December with the usual Christmas decorations, stars, Christmas trees and other decorative items. The students, most of whom profess non-Christian Faiths also took great care in making the Bulletin Boards of the school speak boldly about the message of Christmas with articles, paintings, quotes, photographs and such artifacts, all authored or contributed by themselves.

But the most significant way the students and staff celebrated Christmas on 21st December was by visiting a Mother Teresa’s Home in the city, to share the joy of Christmas with the inmates there. They spent a lot of time with the children who were crippled and challenged in many other ways, and sang Christmas carols for them and prayed with them. It was indeed a beautiful way of living out the Christmas message for the students as well as the less fortunate inmates.

Holy Child Auxilium, R.K. Puram, instead made it an occasion to share the Christmas joy with children of the neighbourhood schools. The Salesian Sisters and staff organized an interaction among the students of 17 schools in the locality, which they termed “Christmas Fantasy” for two days. During these spirited and joyful days there were 14 competitions held among the students in the domain of Christmas dancing, carol singing, action songs, etc. on Christmas themes. It was a befitting way to bring alive the meaning and message of Christmas, and spread the Joy and Good will brought about by the Saviour’s birth.

Holy Childhood Auxilium, R.K. Puram students also staged a Christmas play titled “Santa has lost his costume”. Besides the fact that the play conveyed the lessons of goodness, forgiveness, love and compassion, typical of the Christmas story, to more than 3000 audience, it was also videotaped by Doordarshan, the National Television channel, and televised on two consecutive days following Christmas. This was indeed a unique way of reaching to thousands of people and sharing the Good News of Christmas.

The Salesian Sisters’ schools in the Indian capital this year have shown that it is possible to share the values behind these customs and traditions with people of other Faiths as well, and in the process pass on the Good News that “God is with us” truly.

Published 07/01/2013