• Footage shows Christmas decorations torn down.
• Vandalism incident also reported in India’s Assam.
• Pakistan’s Christians celebrate festival with enthusiasm.
  

Christmas celebrations turned sour for the Christian community in India after a violent mob attacked and vandalised decorations in Chhattisgarh’s capital city of Raipur.

A mob armed with wooden sticks vandalised Christmas decorations and installations at a mall on Wednesday, ahead of the festival, according to The Indian Express.

The group — reportedly comprising 30 to 40 masked men — stormed the mall during a Chhattisgarh bandh called to protest alleged religious conversion-related violence in Kanker.

Footage of the incident showed suspects moving through the mall and tearing down decorations that had been put up ahead of the Christian festival.

Police registered a first information report (FIR) based on a complaint from mall management against unidentified individuals following the incident, India Today reported.

In another such incident, the Vishva Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal vandalised a school during the Christmas preparations in Assam’s Nalbari district.

Members of the far-right party also torched and damaged festival items, while they also staged a protest against Christmas celebrations in Nalbari, according to a report by The Hindu.

Last month, a US report recommended designating India as a country of “special concern” due to religious prejudice and serious violations of religious freedom.

US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its report, exposed religious discrimination in India and extremist policies of the RSS and the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.

The report revealed that Modi and the BJP had implemented discriminatory policies against minorities in line with the Hindutva ideology.

It added that the BJP, as the political wing of the RSS, promotes Hindu nationalism.

The RSS has been involved for decades in violent acts against minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs.

Meanwhile, Christians across the world are celebrating Christmas with religious devotion and traditional celebrations, joining millions of believers worldwide in observing the festival.

In Pakistan, prayer ceremonies were also held by the Christian community during the festival.

Churches in Karachi were decorated as security was tightened around them across the city. At St Patrick’s Church in Saddar, the community marked the festival with enthusiasm.

In Lahore, colourful celebrations began as soon as the clock struck 12 at night, with churches adorned with multicoloured lights for the occasion.

Bridgerton season four cast, Luke Thompson, Yerin Ha and Hannah Dodd, has a treat for their fans.

The series run by Jess Brownwell introduced the 12 Days of Bridgerton, a festive promotional campaign run by Shondaland and Netflix.

It was launched on December 15 and will run through late December functioning like an adventure calendar for fans.

In a new Instagram post Thompson, Ha and Dodd excited fans with what to expect during 12 Days of Bridgerton.

In the clip Thompson on behalf of the series wished the fans a “Happy Holiday season,” with Dodd chiming in saying, “and a happy New Year.”

Ha added that the cast is looking forward for fans to watch the new season.

Before the clip could end, Dodd quickly added that “Before that, there is one last surprise.”

Thompson ended the clip by saying, “that’s all we can say now.”

Meanwhile, Netflix’s Tudum site has released an invitation and RSVP portal for the Bridgerton season four premiere Masquerade, a free virtual live event for fans worldwide.

The show will be premiered on January 14, 2026, two weeks before it’s available.

The worldwide premiere of season four will be in two volumes, part one will be released on January 29 and second on February 26.

Princess Charlotte left a lasting impression on all the people who tuned into to watch the surprise duet with her mother Kate Middleton.

The Together at Christmas Carol service was broadcasted on the eve of Christmas and it featured the mother and daughter performing Holm Sound, a piece of music that was originally composed by Erland Cooper and inspired by his love of Orkney, in the Shetland Islands.

The performance was pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and it earned praises from royal fans and including the Emmy nominated, Scottish composer, producer, Erland, himself.

The musician was personally invited by the Princess of Wales for some “encouragement” and clearly taken by the “lovely” performance. The piece is classified as “moderately” difficult for those in Grade 4-6.

“I mean, imagine anybody performing a piece of music in front of a film crew, and then the person who wrote it,” he said. “Princess Charlotte played beautifully, she really has a wonderful way of playing the lighter notes just beautifully.”

He added that it was “certainly one of my favourite winter solstice moments” and it was “very special, sort of quiet moment”.

Erland also described the special significance the piece held for him, some thing that the young princess was not aware of when she played the music.

“There’s a wonderful bit of serendipity as the piece was composed and dedicated to my mum, also called Charlotte,” he shared. “They didn’t know about, that it’s about motherhood, and how family plays such an important role and such a key part to all of this.”