7,000 take part in annual Kuching Christmas parade
KUCHING: More than 7,000 people participated in the annual Kuching Christmas parade along the main streets in the city centre.
Participants from 15 Christian denominations sang carols and gave out gifts to children during Saturday night’s parade.
They were accompanied by marching bands playing festive tunes while floats depicting Christmas scenes added colour to the event.
“This parade is an event of harmony and a time of great joy,” Catholic Archbishop of Kuching Simon Poh said as he led a prayer before the start of the event.
Among the participants were some wearing traditional costumes of Sarawak’s indigenous communities.
“Dressing in traditional gear is one way to preserve the good aspects of our culture,” said Pastor Nicholas Ningkau of the Sarawak Grace Assembly Church.
He said the parade was about sharing the joy of Christmas in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.
“It’s not a problem for us in Sarawak to hold an event like this. We’ve heard about the negative things that people can do when they assemble in public but here we have no resentment against one another,” he added.
Now into its 12th year, the parade was organised by the Association of Churches in Sarawak and Kuching Ministers’ Fellowship with the theme “Good News of Great Joy”.
Large crowds lined the streets to watch the procession, which lasted over two hours after setting off from Jubilee Ground in Jalan Padungan at 7pm.
A similar event was also held in Miri at the same time.