Christmas festive joy among Telugu Christians in Saudi

On the weekends, special masses and carols marked celebrations as the community erupted in a festive mood.

Jeddah: The Indian Christian community living in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Gulf region is excited as Christmas is being celebrated with festive spirit.

On the weekends, special masses and carols marked celebrations as the community erupted in a festive mood. Owing to Islamic beliefs, the Arabian Gulf is known for being a relatively conservative region yet Christian expatriates have always had the freedom to practice their faith and rituals privately. However, Vision 2030 of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has doubled the festive joy among them.A tiny yet powerful Telugu Christian community is celebrating the festival with overwhelming enthusiasm. The community is engaged in Semi Christmas events in major cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

---

The Telugu Christian expatriate community in Jeddah celebrated Semi Christmas recently with collaboration of SATA, a Telugu NRI organization. The event was held by Naladam Gospel Ministry and coordinated by Simon Peter of Nalgonda district, where a number of families participated with zeal. Mamata Louira anchored the event.

A grand scale event is scheduled to be held on December 29 in the Indian Consulate premises by ICC, the umbrella body Indian Christian Community.

In Riyadh, HOPE, newly formed Indian Christian youth expatriate organization, held the event recently where most prominent Telugu christian NRIs attended mass. Vanguri Suresh flew in from Vijayawada to explain the importance of Christmas. The event was presided over by Kiran Kumar Dola, president of HOPE.