Christmas calls for celebrations, no doubt! But it’s also the time to bring out creativity and innovation in arts – music, dance and decorations! This is the time of the year, when houses and hotels are decked up with blinking lights, glittering Christmas stars and illuminated trees. The markets come alive with little trinkets, bells, bows, shiny balls and an array of gifts! While hotels, malls and institutions in the city have gone that extra mile to create something astoundingly beautiful and innovative, traditional Christian homes have retained the humble charm in the decorations.
“Every year, the decoration is a traditional part of the festivity. At homes, family members from the young to the old engage themselves in setting up the Christmas cradle, depicting the birth of Infant Jesus,” says Frederic Roudrane Samuel, whose house at Othakadai known for the elaborate decorations, receives enthusiastic visitors during Christmas. “Earlier, people used real hay and grass. Even the Christmas tree was a real branch of the Savukku maram . Nowadays, everything is readymade and plastic.”
However, the Visual Communication students of The American College have given an eco-friendly twist to the hand-made nativity scene at the campus. Using clay, hay, wood, jute bags and cloth, the entire set up is eco-friendly, announces Abraham Deivanayagam, Professor of Computer Science, part of the seven-member team behind the décor. “We gave a local touch to the cradle, by constructing an Indian-looking hut, a bullock cart and a hurricane lamp. To symbolise vegetation, we have used mulaippari (sprouts), instead of Korean grass or plastic plants,” says Hans, Professor of Vis. Comm. Department. The students have also clay-modelled statues of Mother Mary and Joseph. “It took us five days to complete the model. We learnt handling different materials apart from knowing how to make a proportional realistic set,” says Narendran, a student.
This, Christmas, the foyer at Milan’em Mall wears an arctic look, with a life-size igloo, snow made of cotton and colourful umbrellas, candies and festoon hanging from the ceiling.
“In the Chennai malls, Umbrellas seem to have become a trend in season decorations. We have taken the same idea. Rather than the usual Christmas décor that’s always the tree and the cradle, we thought an igloo would be something cool and trendy,” says Amar Vora, the owner of the mall.
Guests walking into Fortune Pandiyan Hotel on Christmas can expect a live Santa Claus welcoming them with cakes and goodies. The lobby of the hotel is decked with a lit Christmas tree, gift hampers, champagne and wine bottles, to mark the spirit of the festive season.
