By Jerome D'Costa Christmas is the most important religious festival of the Christians in Bangladesh. It is a time when the rich and the poor alike forget their inequality and differences and share each other's joy and happiness in their own way. Preparations for the great occasion start one week ahead of Christmas.
Women clean their houses and courtyards.
Mud walls are coated with a thin layer of cow dung followed by alluvial clay. The clay gives them a smooth and beautiful look. Various designs of flowers and cribs are then drawn and painted on the walls. They make dyes from red brick powder, lime, mixture of lime and juice of a special leaf, called mehendi, and some other assorted natural and artificial dye powders available in the rural markets. Oil and wick lamps fastened to the banana plants are kept burning all night during the Christmas week.