The `big feast' at Phirangipuram
B.F. SHOWRAYYA
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The sleepy town of Phirangipuram near Guntur comes alive with festivities during Christmas.
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MOUNTAIN OF FAITH The century-old Infant Jesus Cathedral at Phirangipuram.
Nowhere in India is Christmas celebrated on such a colossal scale as at Phirangipuram, a modest town in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh. For over a century, for the people of the place, Christmas has been the "Big Feast". The celebration is marked by profound faith and fascinating festivity. Right from the beginning , people of different faiths in the town used to contribute for the feast. At the centre of Phirangipuram stands the massive Gothic structure Infant Jesus Cathedral with its lofty tower and imposing dome. The cathedral was built in 1893 by Rev.Fr. Dickman, a Milhill Missionary. As a backdrop to the Cathedral is the big Hill of Our Lady of Lourdes crested by the Chapel of Mother Mary. Across the road from the cathedral is the over a century old St. Paul's High School for boys. Behind the cathedral is St. Anne's Convent with a high school for girls. The entire town is spruced up by the Panchayat President Nirmala Bandanadham and her team for the festival. Far below, the Infant Jesus Cathedral is draped in gorgeous illumination and colourful decoration, ready for the birthday celebration of the Son of God, Jesus, also called Emmanuel or `god - with us' . Some two lakh people in their festive apparel and jubilation throng the cathedral compound for the open air Midnight Mass. In the silent night, they devoutly brood on the mystery and the magnificence of the resplendent historic event, which they believe has changed the history and the destiny of humanity.
At the stroke of the midnight hour, the Bishop of Guntur, most Rev, Gali Bali blesses the statue of Child Jesus and takes it to the crib and leaves it in the manager in the midst of the statues of Mother Mary, St. Joseph, the shepherds and the cattle. The congregation is invariably reminded of the scene of the nativity of Jesus for the first time enacted by St. Francis of Assisi when the wooden statue the saint was carrying to the crib became the live Child Jesus in the arms of the saint.
Fr. G. Marreddy, the parish priest has been, to a large extent, responsible for making Christmas a `spiritual awakening process' among the youth and others in town.
The evening Christmas procession with the statues of Lord Jesus, Mother Mary and St. Joseph forms the final highlight of the celebration. During the procession, people march praying and singing while fire works are displayed at every street corner. The climax of the fire works is witnessed leisurely at one end of the town and is a thrilling spectacle for most people. The procession ends in the cathedral almost at dawn. People trudge home heavy with sleep and with mild disappointment that Christmas is over so soon, but happy in their new developed faith and fondness for the Child Jesus, their loving God and Saviour.
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