Ceative corner: The Christmas trees at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Drive past the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus here and you will be pleasantly surprised by the numerous and varied Christmas trees on display.
The extra-large main tree and 13 smaller ones are made up of different designs and materials, but all from recycled materials such as mineral water bottles, tyres, stained plastic, wood, ladders and tree branches as well as other reusable items.
The creative juices of 13 area groups from the church are evident. They ranged from a tyre tree, composed of different-sized tyres and complemented by a tyre snowman, to a tree made entirely out of mineral water bottles complete with a nativity scene painted on tree cuttings.
Organising chairman Simon Joseph said the decorations were planned in such a way to bring the community together as they had not held a large-scale Christmas event since 2019.
“We wanted to bring the church community together and have them do something fun as it has been a while for any such festivity since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There were no rules. They brought their own materials and came up with their own designs.
“Our theme was ‘We Care’ and it was up to them to interpret it. It depended entirely on their creativity, and they started putting the decorations together on Dec 1.
“They had until Dec 11 when we held a lighting ceremony for the 30ft (9.1m) church tree and a Christmas Parish Family Gathering.
“We also held a competition to decide the winner of the best Christmas tree. Although the team that made the stained-glass tree won, all participants received prizes as the focus of this event was to bring everyone together,” he added.
Simon said it was nice to watch everyone come together, with many popping over after work to make and decorate their trees.
“We could see all of them pitching in. Those who were into art did the art aspects while the others who can build, did that.
“We saw children as young as seven and the elderly as old as 70 taking part.
“It’s important to hold events like this to bring people closer together,” he said, adding that the idea was initiated by their parish priest, Monsignor Jude Miranda.
The Christmas trees, lining outside the entrance of the church, will be on display until Dec 31.
The gates of the church will be open for the public to enjoy the sight.
