Ramanathapuram fishermen work long nights to pull off Christmas installation

Just a day ahead of Christmas, a portion inside the Annai Velankanni church, Pamban, Ramanathapuram district has become a sight to behold, encompassing a display made up of a ray of lights flashing over a massive crib set.

S Navis, a fisherman of Pamban told DT Next that the crib set –with white snow gently falling in the backdrop as part of the snowy setting– depicted the nativity scene celebrating the Christ’s birth. He said that since the fishermen were engaged in their work at sea from the early morning hours to late evening, they worked the nights to build the crib set.

Costing about Rs 5 lakh, the crib set holds 13 fibre-coated figurines which cost Rs 1.1 lakh and was funded by a group of 25 youths from the coastal community who voluntarily made their contributions to set this new vision. The figurines were imported from Italy, added Navin. Close to 2,000 ultraviolet light bulbs were put up and an impressive show of lighting with new technology was adapted from Bengaluru, added the fisherman.

People from all religions can visit the illuminated crib set which will be open until January 15.