by Inez D'Cunha
Abu Dhabi, Dec 10: Its Christmas season once again and with it comes time for sharing, giving and loving. As a yearly tradition, Saint Joseph’s Parish Abu Dhabi, held the Christmas Festival on Friday 9th December 2011with great joy and festivities.It was a daylong event. This year the Christmas Festival was a very special one as it was the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Christmas Festival here in the parish of Abu Dhabi.
Rev.Father Savarimuthu, Parish Priest, who is the Chairman of the Christmas Festival Committee 2011, welcomed the huge gathering that met on the grounds of the church to celebrate the Christmas Festival. He greatly appreciated the painstaking efforts of the Festival Committee under the able leadership of Dolphy Vas- General Coordinator of the Christmas Festival Committee, John Conrad - V.P. of Parish Pastoral Council, Noli Paquiz -Assistant Coordinator, Joyce Rego- Secretary of the Festival Committee and the entire team.
Fr Lennie Connolly, Vicar General of the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia inaugurated the festival. In his address to the gathering he said that the festival was a celebration of love beyond borders.
The festival had a philanthropic face to it as all proceeds of the day go to charitable causes. It was a great feeling to see people actively and generously participating to achieve this cause.
25 silver balloons were released to commemorate the 25 glorious years of Christmas festivities in the parish. Perviz Desouza the master of ceremonies kept the spirits of the day soring high with his lively announcements.
Joyce Rego and Peter Cherbel were honoured for their 25 years ofcontinuous selflesssupport to the Christmas Festival. Neville D’souza who was one of the founder members of the Christmas Festival Committee and visiting UAE, was present on this occasion. Reminiscing the past he spoke about the very first Christmas Bazaar in Abu Dhabi 25 years ago which evoked nostalgia.
The tableau on the birth of Jesus with carol singing put up by the Circle of Hands choir group lit up the Christmas spirit. The highlight of the day was the much awaited thrilling arrival of Santa Cause. Keeping up with the times,Santa left his reindeer sleigh behind and zoomed in a plush Red 1300CC Honda Classic motor bike to the excitement of all gathered.
The church premises wore a festive look.The aesthetically decorated Christmas tree stood tall welcoming the parishioners. There were a total of 102 brightly decorated stalls with lots of great finds from home cooked food to Christmas goodies and toys. People could taste cuisine of various countries and communities. The games stalls attracted people with challenging games like breaking the pyramid, horse race, golfing, darting the balloon, spin a win, minute to win it, raffle draws and many more. The entry coupon counters and the cash coupon counter were the busiest. The ushers did a great job in helping to maintain the orderliness through the day.
The stage shows kept the people entertained. The children performed colorful and lively dances that rocked the stage. Activities like table tennis, karaoke singing, computer games, bouncing castle, and magic show kept the children entertained. The DJ played lively music. People were requesting songs for their loved ones and for their listening pleasure. For those with talents, the stage was all theirs in St. Joseph’sGot Talent. An opportunity provided to the youth to showcase their talent at this year’s Christmas festival.
The festivities went on until late evening. The entire parish comprising of people from various nationalities worked as one big family toward one common cause. The atmosphere wasfilled with the true spirit of Christmas.
There were 20 big prizes to be won at the end of the day on the entry coupons. The luckiest of these winners drove home with a car which was the grand prize.
Dolphy Vas thanked all the people who toiled to make the day a smashing success. Many hands not only made this day possible but the amazing turnout and generosity of the community was most appreciated.