People flee after renewed fighting between Myanmar's military and rebel groups in western Rakhine state on Nov. 19. Christians are skipping Christmas celebrations to show solidarity with displaced persons. (Photo: AFP)
Catholics are planning to observe a low-key Christmas this year to show solidarity with uprooted people in war-torn Myanmar.
In predominantly Christian areas of Kachin, Kayah, Chin and Karen states, Catholics will observe a silent Christmas in support of tens of thousands of displaced people who live in makeshift camps.
Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw said it was going to be a small-scale event due to the ongoing fighting in Kachin state.
“We will focus on the spiritual preparation such as attending Masses and receiving the Sacraments,” Bishop Gam told UCA News.
Catherine John who fled Loikaw, Kayah state’s capital last month due to the fighting, said she was in no mood for joy to celebrate the festive season.
“The sound of gunfire and airstrikes is still haunting. So, I can’t find a joyful movement in the festive season this year,” Catherine, 65, who now stays with relatives in Yangon, told UCA News.
“It’s a somber Christmas for us amidst the suffering of people"
She said a few parishes in Yangon have held charity events with carol singing.
But they were “low-key events,” Catherine noted and recalled her participation in Christmas celebrations last year in Loikaw diocese.
In November, Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Loikaw fled the Bishop’s House along with priests and nuns after junta forces occupied Christ the King Cathedral to take on armed rebels who include Christians.
In a Christmas message to his followers, Bishop Shwe urged Catholics "to show love and do good" at Christmas time.
“It’s a somber Christmas for us amidst the suffering of people who have been uprooted from their homes and the destruction of churches,” Catherine added.
Major cities like Mandalay and Yangon have no big plans for Christmas.
“There is no festive mood in the city this year"
St. Gemma Galgani parish in Shwe Pyi Thar township under Yangon archdiocese plans to provide free meals on Dec.25.
“Let us celebrate a compassionate Christmas when many people are facing various hardships due to war,” parish priest Father Paul Aung Myint Win, wrote on his Facebook account.
Churches and convents in Lashio diocese in Shan state have been damaged.
“It is a silent Christmas as carol singing and major events are banned amid a night curfew in Lashio city,” Edward, a church social worker, told UCA News.
“There is no festive mood in the city this year,” said Edward, who goes by one name.
Thousands of displaced people are staying in churches and Buddhist monasteries in Lashio, according to Edward.
"Fighting has spread to other parts of the country"
Salesians in Myanmar have urged Catholics to join the novena in the evenings.
Christians in Kayah, Shan and Chin states could not celebrate Christmas and New Year in 2021 and 2022 due to the fighting.
Twelve dioceses, including Loikaw, Pekhon, Mandalay, out of 16 in the Southeast Asian nation have been affected by the ongoing conflict since the military coup in 2021.
Fighting has intensified since late October after a major offensive began in northern Shan state by the Three Brothers Alliance — the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army — under a military campaign codenamed “Operation 1027.”
The fighting has spread to other parts of the country, including Kayah, Chin and Kachin states.
More than 660,000 people have been displaced since the offensive began on Oct.27 taking the total number of displaced people to 2.6 million, according to the UN.
Christians make up nearly 6 percent of Myanmar’s population of 54 million, and Buddhism, followed by nearly 89 percent, is the state religion.
