by Inez Dcunha
Abu Dhabi, Dec 13 : The Christmas bazaar 2016 held on 9th December at St Joseph’s Church heralded in the joyous Christmas season for the parish, the season of sharing, giving and socializing with friends and family. The parishioners of St Joseph’s Parish, Abu Dhabi, who hail from different parts of the world gathered in large numbers, unified as one big family on the grounds of the church to celebrate in true Christmas spirit for a good cause. The feeling was that of one world, one parish,one family. It was a daylong event. Special red T-shirts were designed for the occasion.
Every year the organizing committee comes up with brilliant and creative ideas to make the inaugural attractive and exciting.This year, H.E. Bishop Paul Hinder, parish priest Fr. Johnson and all the other priests made a grand entrance, with the bishop riding on a reindeer sleigh along with Santa Claus. The children of the parish dressed up in red,dancing to Christmas carols, paraded the grounds leading the bishop to the stage. Parishioners gathered on either side waving and cheering and welcoming the Bishop. Excitement and joy filled the air. The Bishop inaugurated the bazaar with a Christmas message and released a bunch of balloons. Santa was around with his bag of goodies distributing sweets to children.The entire church premises was transformed into a Christmas wonderland.
All the parish priests and sisters of St Joseph’s graced the occasion. They were honored on the stage with little gifts from Santa. An exceptionally large crowd had gathered for the inauguration. The organizing committee headed by Dolphy Vas spared no efforts in making the day a grand success.
A tableau depicting message of Christmas was presented by the Circle of Hands, Pilipino choir groupfollowed by the children’s choir,Voices in Praise,flagged off the day with their heartwarming carols.A variety of stage shows were line up for the day.
The various food stalls provided a rich experience of taste and culture from round the world. Food ranged from Italian, Spanish, French, Sri Lankan, Pilipino, Korean, Pakistani, Arabic, African to Indian. People thronged the food stall to try delicacies from round the world.
There was a wide range of authentic Indian food from Malaylam, Tamil,Goan, East Indian and Mangalorean communities. Most of the food was cooked in the homes of generous volunteers so it made the taste extra special.
There were games stalls galore brimming withenthusiasm. There were lucky draws throughout the day. The children also had activities lined up in the parish hall. The Parish hall was transformed into a winter wonderland for the youth and children. The bazaar had activities for all age groups.
The volunteers at the bazaar coupon booths were the busiest as it could be seen that people were spending generously as it was all for a charitable cause.
The entire event was co-hosted by lively and able compereswho kept the day rocking.
The bazaar concluded at 10:00 p.m.amidst great excitement with the grand draw of prizes. The main attractions being a Nissan Car and air tickets. Dolphy Vas thanked the bishop, priests, nuns, the organizing committee, all the sponsors and well-wishers for their ardent support and appreciated all the hard work of the volunteers.He thanked the parishioners for attending in large numbers making the day a thumping success. Vicar General Fr. Troy blessed the gathering.