The Ranchi archdiocese began Christmas celebrations by distributing blankets and clothes among poor children of a remote forested area in Jharkhand.

The archdiocese, along with Sarvangin Gram Vikash Kendra of Daltonganj, distributed blankets and clothes among around 200 children in the Latehar district on Saturday. “The Christmas begins with children and the Child Christ,” said Theodore Mascarenhas, Auxiliary Bishop of Ranchi archdiocese, also the apostolic administrator of Daltonganj diocese, adding that was why they chose the poor children of a remote area to begin their celebrations.

“We organised a Christmas gathering with children at Chetma village of Aksi panchayat in Latehar district as they really needed help,” the Bishop informed. The area is surrounded by thick forests and experiences severe cold. The people of the area are very poor and they don’t have enough woollens to protect themselves from the cold. So they often spend winter nights lighting a fire and sitting beside it, he explained.

While speaking to the children at Chetma, Bishop Mascarenhas has not only advised them to continue their studies but also to pray for all those donors who help the church doing such charities.

In a recent pastoral letter, signed by Ranchi Archbishop Felix Toppo and Auxiliary Bishop Mascarenhas, the archdiocese had appealed to the followers not to waste money on burning firecrackers and celebrating Christmas but to donate the money. “Instead of burning money on firecrackers, let us use it for a good purpose,” the Advent and Christmas pastoral letter, issued in the last week of November, had advised the followers. It also asked the followers “to shun the tradition of bringing flowers, sweets and cakes to the Archbishop House” and instead donate the money to charities.