Catholics in Hai Duong are busy preparing for Christmas.

These days, the road leading to Nghia Xuyen Parish Church, Tam Ky Commune (Kim Thanh) becomes more sparkling and magical with LED lights and star lights decorated by parishioners, creating a unique feature of the parish. Inside the church, preparations for Christmas are being rushed by parishioners.

With his hands deftly tying decorative lights on the giant Christmas tree placed in front of the church hall, Mr. Hoang Van Bac, Head of Nghia Xuyen parish, said that since the end of November, parishioners have started decorating to prepare for the new Christmas season. Each parishioner is in charge of a different job. In addition to the characteristics of the Christmas season, this year Nghia Xuyen parish also decorated a giant Santa Claus right outside the church gate, surrounded by artificial snowflakes and many colorful gift boxes. All preparations have been basically completed, ready to welcome a peaceful and warm Christmas season.

Not only in church areas, village roads, and parishioners, but also in each family, parishioners are busy decorating their houses to welcome Christmas. “Every year, at the beginning of December, my family prepares bamboo, cement bags, and steel to make a nativity scene and erect a Christmas tree. Although it is a bit expensive, we are very happy because Christmas is an occasion for all family members to gather and reunite to celebrate Christmas,” said Ms. Hoang Thi Nhuan, a parishioner in the church neighborhood, Nghia Xuyen parish.

At Nhan Nghia Parish Church, Nam Dong Ward (Hai Duong City), the atmosphere of Christmas preparations is also very urgent. Priest Nguyen Van Phong said that the parish has two parishes, Dong Phap and Tien Hai, in Nam Dong and Ai Quoc wards, with about 1,500 parishioners. In recent days, parishioners have participated in hundreds of working days to make large and small grottos inside and outside the church; make mangers; install decorative lights on ornamental trees in the yard, replace electrical wires; check the sound and lighting systems... With the spirit of love and charity, on this Christmas occasion, Nhan Nghia Parish has given nearly 100 gifts to families in difficult circumstances in the parish and some patients at Chi Linh Leprosy Hospital.

Outside the yard of Nhan Nghia Church, directly instructing the Nhan Nghia Church Choir, Mr. Bui Dinh Suu said that in order to prepare for the Christmas Eve celebration, in the past few days, he and the members of the choir have not minded the cold weather, instructing the children and teenagers to practice singing and dancing to perform on the main night of the ceremony. 17 performances were prepared with the participation of nearly 300 people, so in addition to the time for centralized practice, each member took the time to practice individually at home or in groups.

As parishioners of Dong Binh Parish, Ninh Hai Commune (Ninh Giang), for the past few years, Pham Thi Lan and her husband have often gone to Hai Duong City to work as hairdressers in Cam Thuong Ward. Despite their busy work, for nearly a month now, taking advantage of their free time, they have been busy preparing materials and tools to decorate for Christmas. “In recent years, every year I have invested in building a nativity scene, snowmen, Santa Claus, reindeer sleigh... Although it takes a lot of time and is expensive, it only happens once a year, so I want to prepare carefully and solemnly so that the whole family can enjoy a warm and complete Christmas together,” said Lan.

By December 20, all preparations for Christmas Eve at Hai Duong Church on Tran Hung Dao Street (Hai Duong City) had been completed. From the yard and garden outside to the inside of the church, everything was splendidly decorated. Ms. Pham Thi Viet, a parishioner on Nha Tho Street, said that every year, near Christmas, Catholics gather at the church to decorate the nativity scene, pine trees, reindeer, fish tanks, stages, etc. This activity not only celebrates the birth of Christ but is also an opportunity for Catholics to gather, show solidarity, and pray together for the best.

Christmas is not only a big holiday for Catholics but has become a happy day for everyone, bringing people of all faiths and religions closer together to celebrate a peaceful and warm Christmas season.

Hai Duong province currently has 41 parishes, 81 sub-parishes, 129 churches, chapels, monasteries and nearly 42,000 parishioners. Over the years, parishioners have always accompanied local authorities, actively responded to and implemented campaigns launched by the locality.