State Capital Soaks In Yuletide Spirit

Bhubaneswar: It’s Christmas time and the city is decked up in red. All the shops are decked up with holly and colourful toys. On the streets, especially at traffic signals, vendors are selling Santa Claus masks and caps of all sizes, which are a major attraction for children. The Christmas fervor has been catching on in the city over the years. Let us take a look at what is happening this year!

Santa’s costume

Santa’s costume is a craze among children. They can be seen pestering their parents to buy them one at shops in the markets and on the streets too. Sellers from Rajasthan have come here and are selling Christmas related goodies at various places in the city.
“We have brought these costumes of Santa Claus from Delhi. Santa’s costume is for Rs 150 and if you buy only the cap, it is for Rs 20. They are in great demand,” said Sunita, a seller from Rajasthan. “We have come to Odisha to sell these costumes only. After Christmas, we will return to our village. We do farming there,” said Rajendra from Rajasthan. More than 40 such sellers have come here for selling these costumes and are quite happy with the sales although most of them are living on the roadside. This is their seasonal business.

“We have costumes for all age groups, from children to adults,” said Rajendra. Many schools, who have been celebrating Christmas have bought costumes from these sellers.
There is better and more expensive stuff available in the malls and private shops. “Santa Claus costumes are in great demand now. I have costumes in range of Rs 350 to Rs 1,000. Show pieces of Santa Claus in the price range of Rs 600 and Rs 20,000,” said Pawan Rajotia, owner of a city shop, Utsav. “Though we have the costumes for all age groups, people are mostly buying them for children,” he added.

Who is Santa Claus?

The man we know as Santa Claus has a history. Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red, but his story stretches way back to the third century. The legend can be traced back to a monk named St Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 AD in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Admired for his piety and kindness, the monk became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and travelled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. He was soon appointed as a bishop of the church. Because Nicholas was still so young, people called him the “Boy Bishop.”

What Santa and Christmas mean to children

In view of the holidays, many schools have already celebrated the big day. Christmas was celebrated at St Mary’s Little Steps’ play school on Friday. The children looked adorable with the red and white combination costumes.

“If Santa Clause comes to me, I will ask for a lot of toys from him. I also love drums. I hope Santa gives me a set,” said four-year-old Baivab Sen. “I love chocolates and toys. I will tell Santa Claus to give me lots of them,” said Atasi Panda.

“I used to collect Barbie dolls and I love chocolates too. I hope Santa Claus will come and give me Barbie dolls and a variety of chocolates,” said Nibriti Nayak, a Class-I student of Mother’s Public School.