Christmas celebration at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra

Saturday, 24 December 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Christmas was celebrated at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra with the participation of the Sri Lankan community on 15 December 2016.

Rev. Father Isuru Weliwatte from Melbourne delivered a blessing and a Christmas message highlighting the true meaning of Christmas. He pointed out that the modest surroundings in which Baby Jesus was born teach us humility which, he said, is the true spirit of Christmas.

High Commissioner S. Skandakumar extended his gratitude to Father Isuru for his thought provoking Christmas message and blessings, and also thanked the audience for their presence.

Identifying himself as a proud Sri Lankan who was a Tamil Hindu, he recited verbatim the lyrics from the “Deck of Cards” that was made famous by Tex Ritter as a prayer book of a weary soldier, concluding that it had its Christian significance for him too.

He observed that our love and respect for God must necessarily be reflected in the way we treat all of God’s children who are essentially our brothers and sisters. Among God’s creations, we take the human anatomy for granted he said, and yet we only have to analyse its amazing functions to appreciate how blessed we are in our wellbeing. Surely, then he asked, should we not use those resources in the best interest of mankind.

Our lives are divided between “needs” and “wants,” said Skandakumar. While the latter may continue to change, peace will always be a human need, as vital as water and food and requires only love and compassion, which are inherent in each and every one of us. The High Commissioner said that this was indeed the message that he hoped we could take forward into the New Year and beyond. The High Commission staff joined the Choristers from the Australia Sri Lanka Association and the Canberra Tamil Christian Fellowship to sing Christmas carols in Sinhala, Tamil and English, with the entire audience rising to their feet to join in the final Hymn “Silent Night.”

The High Commissioner in his concluding remarks referred to these moments as special, and thanked Rev. Father Isuru, the choristers and the gathering for their contribution in making the celebration a true Christmas blessing.