Christmas News from Dornakal

The Advent season has begun in earnest. The tradition for churches is to go out into the streets and sing carols. This happens for the whole of Advent. The local community looks forward to this and people will come out of their houses to listen.

Children’s Day was celebrated in November. This is a day, celebrated across India. It means that pupils can come to school in their favourite clothes and lessons are cancelled while fun activities take place. At the DDEM School there were lots of competitions – including drawing and painting and creating wonderful rangoli patterns with chalk paint in the school yard. There were cricket matches on the field outside the school and a tenniquoit match.

The DDEM school celebrates Christmas in the week running up to Christmas with a special meal for the children in the evening after school and all the teachers and clergy from the Cathedral dress in Santa hats and serve the food – chicken biryani, the traditional festive food in the Dornakal region. After the meal there are speeches followed by traditional dancing and comedy sketches.

The school does not have a Christmas holiday as we do; instead, it has two days – Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Our First Form have been creating beautifully decorated bookmarks to send to the pupils at the DDEM School.

Everyone in the DDEM School and the Diocese of Dornakal send their best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a joyful New Year.