Christmas

Top 5 perfect destinations to celebrate Christmas 2024 in India; check list

From Goa's beaches to Shimla's snowy streets, there are several places in India offering their unique aura of celebrating Christmas 2024. Here are the top 5 destinations to celebrate the festival

'Tis the season: How to get luxuriously creative with your Christmas decor

The essence of Christmas decor lies in creating a warm, joyful, and inviting atmosphere that reflects the spirit of the season. Know how to deck up your home and hearth this festive season

As tourists discover Finland's Santa Village, locals call for crowd control

Shuffling across icy ground on a cold December afternoon, lots of tourist groups poured into Santa Claus Village, a winter-themed amusement park perched on the edge of the Arctic Circle. They frolic in the snow, take a reindeer sleigh ride, sip a cocktail in an ice bar or even meet Saint Nick himself in the capital of Finnish Lapland, Rovaniemi, which happily calls itself the official hometown of Santa Claus." The Santa Claus Village theme park, which attracts more than 600,000 people annually, is especially popular during the holiday season. This is like my dream came true, beamed Polish visitor Elzbieta Nazaruk. I'm really excited to be here. Tourism is booming in Rovaniemi which has hotel and restaurant owners, as well as city officials, excited as it brings lots of money to the town. However, not everyone is happy about the onslaught of visitors, 10 times the town's population, each year at Christmas time. We are worried about the overgrowth of tourism. Tourism has grown so .

Scientists recreate real face of Santa Claus after 1,700 years, pics viral

For the first time in 1700 years, scientists have created the true face of Santa, Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Christian bishop renowned for his generosity and gift-giving

Steady course: Year-end travel plans not hit yet as airfares remain stable

The fares were considered for tickets booked 30 days in advance. Goa remains one of India's most popular destinations for Christmas and New Year celebrations

New Zealand visitor visa: Why you must apply for Christmas travel by Oct 15

To avoid missing out on your planned travel dates, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has set some important deadlines

China's August manufacturing swung back to growth, shows Caixin PMI

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 in August from 49.8 the previous month, beating analysts' forecasts in a Reuters poll of 50.0

Merry Christmas Box Office Collection Day 4: Vijay's movie collects 10 cr

Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi's movie has minted over Rs 9 crore after three days. The movie got positive reviews from the audience and it is expected to perform well in future

Orthodox Christmas: Why some believers celebrate it 13 days after Dec 25

While much of the world has Christmas in the rearview mirror by now, people in some Eastern Orthodox traditions will celebrate the holy day on Sunday. Certain Eastern Orthodox churches, including those in Russian and other traditions, follow the ancient Julian calendar, which runs 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar, used by Catholic and Protestant churches as well as by much of the secular world for everyday use. Other Orthodox, including those in the Greek tradition and, now, some Ukrainian churches, celebrate Christmas on the same date as Western churches. Why are there different dates for Christmas? Technically, there aren't. All Eastern Orthodox agree that December 25 is the date of Christmas, or the Feast of the Nativity, as they call it. The question is whether December 25 falls on December 25 or January 7. That requires a little unpacking. The ancient church set its religious feasts based on the Julian calendar, but after more than a millennium, that calendar had ...

Fog of confusion

The aviation ecosystem needs to cooperate better

Kolkata restaurants see surge in footfall during Christmas-New Year week

City-based restaurants are experiencing a surge in customer footfall during the Christmas-New Year week from December 24-27, according to an official of the Hostel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI). HRAEI president Sudesh Poddar said crowd turnout is expected to improve further leading up to the New Year. The association reported a 15% increase in food consumption, with customers patiently waiting for three to four hours to savour their favourite dishes. Poddar mentioned that his own fine dining restaurants, Manthan and Manthan Songhai, continue to have full house with customers waiting patiently for hours. Bar-cum-restaurant owners have requested the government to extend the closing time till 2 am until January 1 and urged patrons not to drive their vehicles to comply with the administration's road safety request. Nitin Kothari, owner of Peter Cat, Mocambo, and Peter Hu?, said after Durga puja, there was brief slump, but customer response has been exceptionally

PM Modi shares video of students' tour of his residence on Christmas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday shared a video of school students sharing their delight while taking a tour of his residence on Christmas. The PM said it seems his office passed the ultimate test as the children gave it a thumbs-up. The video showed students being taken through different parts of his residence, including the prime minister's office and the conference room which hosts Union Cabinet meetings. "It was a great great opportunity. I hope there are many opportunities ahead like this," said one of the young visitors. The group of students is also heard singing Christmas and New Year wishes during the interaction the prime minister had with the members of Christian community. In a post on X, Modi said, "Curious young minds traversing across 7, LKM clearly made for a great experience.

Temporary bridge set up for Christmas festivities in Kerala collapses

A makeshift bridge, set up as part of Christmas celebrations at Poovar near Neyyattinkara here, collapsed causing injuries to several persons, police said. A senior officer of the district said that 7-8 persons were injured in the incident with one of them -- a woman -- suffering a major fracture in her leg. "The rest suffered only minor injuries," he said. The officer said the incident occurred around 9 pm on Monday when several persons got on top of the bridge which could not support their weight and slanted to one side, toppling those standing there. The temporary bridge was set up for people to cross over a wall to the other side to see a waterfall and a nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus as well as other decorations as part of the Christmas celebrations, the officer said. The bridge was just around five feet above the ground and was meant to support a few people at a time, he said. "However, several persons climbed on to it simultaneously which resulted in the accid

Migrant caravan in southern Mexico marks Christmas Day by trudging onward

Christmas Day meant the same as any other day for thousands of migrants walking through southern Mexico: more trudging under a hot sun. There were no presents, and Christmas Eve dinner was a sandwich, a bottle of water and a banana handed out by a local church to some of the migrants in the town of lvaro Obregn, in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala. Migrants spent Christmas night sleeping on a scrap of cardboard or plastic stretched out under an awning or tent, or the bare ground. In the morning, it was waking as usual at 4 a.m., to get an early start and avoid the worst of the heat, walking to the next town, Huixtla, 20 miles (30 kilometres) away. Karla Ramrez, a migrant from Honduras who was travelling with other adults and four children, got to lvaro Obregn too late Sunday to get any of the food being given out by the church. So they had to buy whatever little they could afford. It was sad: we have never, ever been in the street before, Ramrez said. Our ...

India proudly acknowledges Christian community's contribution: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi heaped praise on the Christian community on Monday for its role in the freedom movement and in various fields like healthcare and education, and said the country proudly acknowledges its contribution. In an interaction with the members of the community at his residence here on Christmas, Modi said the values of compassion, inclusivity and justice for all propagated by Jesus Christ also served as a "guiding light" in his government's development journey. Praising the community for playing an important role in giving direction to the society and sense of service, he noted that Mahatma Gandhi had said the Non-cooperation Movement was conceived under the patronage of Sushil Kumar Rudra, the then Principal of St. Stephen's College. Modi also recalled his old, intimate and warm relations with Christians since his days as the Gujarat chief minister and said they have always been at the forefront in serving the poor and deprived. Many thinkers and leaders from

Traffic snarls in several parts of Delhi due to Christmas celebrations

Traffic snarls were reported from several parts of Delhi on Monday as people thronged markets and churches to celebrate Christmas. The Delhi Traffic Police asked commuters to avoid Mathura Road and Lodhi Road. "Due to high footfall and the parking issue in Sunder Nursery, Nizamuddin traffic is affected on Mathura Road and Lodhi Road near Neela Gumbad. Commuters are advised to avoid this stretch," the traffic police wrote on X. Earlier in the day, police said the churches and cathedrals of the national capital expecting heavy congregation of devotees include the Sacred Heart cathedral near Gol Dak Khana, St Thomas church (Mandir Marg), Free church (Sansad Marg), Cathedral church (in front of the Rashtrapati Bhawan), St Martin's church (Delhi Cantonment), St Thomas church (R K Puram) and St Mary's Knanaya church (Vasant Kunj). Commuters also took to X to complain about the traffic situation across the city. Heavy traffic was reported from the Miraj cinema area at Subhash Nagar towar

Traffic likely to be hit in Delhi in view of Christmas celebrations

Traffic is likely to be affected in several parts of Delhi on Monday in view of Christmas celebrations. According to police, the churches and cathedrals of the national capital expecting heavy congregation of devotees include the Sacred Heart cathedral near Gol Dak Khana, St Thomas church (Mandir Marg), Free church (Sansad Marg), Cathedral church (in front of the Rashtrapati Bhawan), St Martin's church (Delhi Cantonment), St Thomas church (R K Puram) and St Mary's Knanaya church (Vasant Kunj). Heavy traffic is expected near Gol Dak Khana and on Ashoka Road, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Sansad Marg, Lodhi Road, Aurobindo Marg and other stretches, officials said. Traffic towards Gol Dak Khana will be diverted from the RML roundabout, Bhai Veer Singh Marg or the Kali Bari T-point, Patel Chowk on Ashoka Road and Connaught Place Outer Circle on Baba Kharak Singh Marg , police said. A police official said New Delhi district has divided the duty of traffic personnel in three shifts starting fr

Market holiday: BSE and NSE to remain closed today on account of Christmas

Indian exchanges like NSE, BSE, MCX, and the bond market will remain shut on the account of Christmas, this is the last market holiday on a trading day in this calendar year

Midnight masses, celebrations on beaches mark Christmas festivities in Goa

Prayers, midnight masses and carols sung in praise of Lord Jesus ushered in the Christmas festivities in Goa where several people gathered at churches and beaches for the celebrations held throughout the night. The streets of capital city Panaji were crowded with people who participated in the celebrations till the early hours of Monday after attending the midnight masses in churches. The famous Church Square in the heart of Panaji turned into a sea of people, as a large number of tourists have also arrived for the Christmas and New Year celebrations in the coastal state, which has about 30 per cent Christian population. Keeping with the festive spirit, Goans decked up their houses in colourful lights and put up beautifully decorated cribs, depicting the birth of Lord Jesus. At Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church in Panaji, devotees started gathering from 11 pm on Sunday to attend the prayers. With the ringing of bells at midnight, the birth of Lord Jesus was celebrated a

Merry Christmas 2023: History, significance, top 50 wishes, quotes to share

Christmas is one of the most celebrated festivals across the world. People celebrate by exchanging gifts, bringing Christmas trees to homes and more. Check 50 best wishes, messages to share