Bhubaneswar/Phulbani, Dec 25 (PTI) Christmas was celebrated with religious fervour in different parts of Odisha, including the districts of Gajapati, Kandhamal and Sundergarh that have a significant Christian population.

Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik greeted the people on the occasion.

Churches allowed people to offer prayers in small batches, even as many chose to perform the rituals through the virtual mode from home.

In state capital Bhubaneswar, the usual Christmas crowd was missing at the churches. The Catholics at St. Vincent's Pro-Cathedral in the Satya Nagar area observed mass prayers with limited worshipers.

In Kandhamal, Christmas services in different Churches were performed with much pomp and gaiety with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines.

People stepped into churches for the first time in nearly nine months at Phulbani, G.Udayagiri, Balliguda, Raikia, Daringbadi, Kotagarh and Bamunigam.

In many churches, the Christmas services were conducted online, said Reverent Dillip Kumar Bala, the Bishop of G.Udayagiri.

No report of any untoward incident was received and the day was celebrated peacefully, police said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)