Pathira Kurbana, the Holy Midnight Mass

Christmas, the festival that symbolizes love and universal brotherhood is celebrated with enthusiastic and cheerful fervour in Kerala

The Midnight Mass
In most churches, three Holy Masses are held on the day starting with the first at midnight.

During the Pathira Kurbana (in Malayalam, Pathira means midnight and Kurbana, the Holy Mass), the image of the Holy Child is ceremoniously taken out by the priest.

Holding lighted candles, rows of children accompany him to the crib. The hymn 'Gloria in exelcis Deo' is intoned amidst the bursting of crackers.

The video clip is an excerpt of the Midnight Mass held in a church at Vellayambalam in Thiruvananthapuram district.