Date:22/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/22/stories/2008122253920400.htm

New Delhi

Christmas card to bear the pain of Orissa

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Ushering in the season of Christmas this year the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese is bringing out Christmas cards with a difference. The idea is to send a clear message that the “violence committed on the people of Orissa recently cannot be forgotten in the midst of Christmas celebrations.”

“The card is our way of showing solidarity with the victims of mindless violence there as well as make others aware of the plight of those people and by extension of the Christian community in India,” said the director and spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Rev. Dominic Emmanuel.

The card which is an outcome of the deliberations of a group of people from the Delhi Archdiocese is already in demand according to the spokesperson. “Many people from around India have already placed orders for the card and we are happy with the response that we have been receiving so far,” said Rev. Emmanuel.

“Christmas card is a well established custom among people and usually there is a standard message and a common picture. But we thought that rather than celebrating Christmas in the usual manner let us make a difference. That is how the idea about the card came about and we are now sending these cards to as many people as possible especially politicians, journalists and opinion makers. The idea is to convey our pain and the anguish and it is also a reminder to the nation and our community that we haven’t forgotten our people who have suffered in Orissa,” said Rev. Emmanuel. The layout of the card has been done at the Don Bosco printing press in Okhla and the general public can contact communication/get information at Bureau, 9-10 Bhai Veer Singh Marg, or phone 23363214.