Christmas was celebrated across Kangpokpi district with subdued fervour and solemn reflection, as the Christian community marked the festival amid continuing conflict-related trauma and the displacement of thousands of Kuki-Zo families.
Though the spirit of Christmas was felt, it was far from the vibrant celebrations of the past.
For the third consecutive year, the community largely restrained itself from full-scale festivities in view of the prolonged conflict and the immense human suffering it has caused.
After two years of near-total restraint, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) permitted limited celebrations this year, allowing observances for two days under strict guidelines. The relaxation, however, came with conditions—no loud public address systems, no night gatherings, and celebrations restricted largely to worship services.
Once known for streets illuminated with stars, lights and decorations, large parts of Kangpokpi bore a sombre look. Except for churches, their campuses and a handful of residences, most homes and public spaces refrained from decoration, reflecting a collective mood of mourning and restraint.
Churches in Kangpokpi town held Christmas morning worship services, while a mass community gathering was organised at noon, where prayers were offered for peace, hymns were sung and Lamkol, the traditional Christmas dance, was performed in a restrained manner.
The customary Christmas feast—long regarded as a defining feature of the festival—was largely avoided. Some churches, however, organised modest communal meals within church premises, where members dined together in quiet fellowship.
Across services, prayers were particularly offered for displaced Kuki-Zo families still living in relief camps across the district.
Church leaders and congregants remembered those who lost their lives during the conflict—sons and daughters, parents, spouses—whose absence continues to cast a long shadow over the community.
“This Christmas comes not with unbroken joy, but with heavy hearts,” reflected a prayer read during one of the services, noting that while much of the world celebrates with lights and carols, many in Kangpokpi remain homeless, grieving and uncertain about the future.
Speakers during the worship services recalled that the birth of Christ itself took place amid hardship, poverty and displacement, drawing parallels with the present suffering. The message across pulpits emphasised hope, endurance and faith—that God stands closest to the broken-hearted and the forgotten.
Church leaders stressed that Christmas this year was not merely a festival, but a reaffirmation of compassion, solidarity and the collective resolve to stand together until displaced families can return home with dignity and peace.
As candles were lit and prayers concluded, the district marked a quiet, prayerful and solemn Christmas—one defined less by celebration and more by remembrance, resilience and the hope that light will yet rise from the darkness.
